


Bone Appétit

by OnceUponAReset



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Boulders will be suplexed, Death, Eventual Kink, F/F, F/M, Fantastic Racism, Female Reader, Fluff, Graphic Violence, Lots of Papyrus, Love/Hate, M/M, Mercy - Freeform, Okay maybe completely tsundere reader, Post-Pacifist Route, Reader-Insert, Sexual Tension, Slightly Tsundere Reader, Slow Burn, Tags may change as story progresses, Violence, plot heavy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:43:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 51
Words: 355,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceUponAReset/pseuds/OnceUponAReset
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're a mostly shy and ill-mannered girl endlessly blaming the world for something you yourself aren't quite sure of. You hate that you're stuck being unhappy while the rest of society- monsters and humans alike- stroll along with their happy lives, unaware of your miserable state of dependancy. You envy others for their tenacity to survive the world when you can't... </p><p>Everything changes when you meet a tall skeleton monster with artisan spaghetti dreams, an anime-loving fish monster, and her much shorter lizard-monster girlfriend obsessed with Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. Can the three find a way to change your stone cold heart and bring you out of your monster-bigoted mindset? Or will you fall victim to living the same lonely life you've lived since the beginning?</p><p>On top of that, will a pun-loving skeleton still wary of this reality vanishing help you out with his friends? Or will he be the one to push you over the edge into misfortune? </p><p>WARNING: Reader is not a nice person in the beginning, and that is intentional. You will cringe. You will scream at the computer. Some characters may seem out of character, but that's intentional as well.</p><p>REALLY Slow burn! Hate-love!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Skele-bro

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what I'm doing- Although this isn't my first time writing fan fiction, it's my first time on Archive and my first time doing a story in 2nd P.O.V.. Regardless though, hope y'all enjoy it!

 Chapter 1: The First Skele-bro

 

You don't consider yourself much of a braniac, despite always running around your college campus on the weekdays. Your school days usually consist of you attending classes, to participating in tutor centers as you work towards getting the necessary credits for your major.

You're already 21 years old- the age when alcohol consumption is usually a problem with students. Well, not you though. You actually aren't much of a party person, so to speak. Your short weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) are usually either reserved for extra study time, reading time at home with the kitten, or hanging out with your best friend, Libby.

As if you have time to go out and make young mistakes...

Anyways, since all of your time is usually spent at the community college campus, you're pretty much the person to go to when it comes to new students looking around the school or old students frustrated and confused by the inefficient school website. You know the school from top to bottom- No one is as informed as you, and it's probably because you spend a lot of time reading the school paper (unlike most other students).

See, that's why you aren't surprised to see the abnormal influx of students not present that Monday morning. The school looks like it's having weekend classes or a lockdown, and although you don't have weekend classes this semester, you know well enough that the campus only looks _this_ empty on those three days.

There's only one reason why this many students would choose not to show up... Yes, it has to be because of the enrollment of monsters into the community. It was bound to happen eventually, though it took a lot longer than expected, in your opinion. You reckon your college should feel lucky enough that they were able to enjoy their one hundred percent human environment for a longer time than the other unfortunate colleges with early monster enrollment.

It feels as if they'd only left Mt. Ebott yesterday, however in reality it must have been four months since that salty day.

Monsters are everywhere now, but you tend to follow the crowd when it comes to approaching them. You almost didn't leave your house today either, but you decided that monsters lurking in the halls just isn't worth missing a day of class. Eventually, you'll pay the price later if you miss a class session.

You cross the final field of grass to the Business Education building with a slight loss of breath, glancing at the watch around your left wrist every now and then until you make it to your classroom door.

Luckily, you're five minutes early.

On the apparent flip-side though....

"Well... This was a complete waste of time," you mutter to yourself, leering at a pink paper taped to the contrasting dark brown door with a few names signed on the rows of available lines

_Prof. Gerard's 8:00 am CIS course is cancelled. Sign to show attendance._

You don't really understand why teachers do this sort of thing. What about the poor people that are given rides to class? The ones that live far away and are forced to spend extra time waiting for their ride to come back and get them? Is the professor just too lazy to send out a mass email?

Sighing heavily, you adjust the straps of your blue backpack and turn around to walk back down the stairs that lead to the building. You dressed up rather nicely today too, hoping to impress one classmate you have a crush on. Currently, you have on thick black tights under a pair of maroon shorts and some small cream colored booties. Your top consists of a brown long sleeved sweater and an intricate infinity scarf that makes every color you wear mesh together.

...To be completely honest though, you aren't the one that picked the outfit out. Not to say you have bad taste in clothing, but if it were up to you, you would be too lazy to doll yourself up the proper way. Mentally, you always know what goes together well and what doesn't, it's just that you're always in too much of a hurry to put those ideas to use. That's where your best friend Libby usually steps in.

At the thought of impressing your classmate, you pause and race back to your classroom door scanning the sign in sheet hastily.

He hasn't signed his name in yet. He's probably still on his way. Maybe you can stall for time and run into him or something! Then again... You'd probably look really weird standing by the door waiting- not to mention completely obvious. Besides, who stands by their classroom after learning of its cancellation? Any student in their right mind would pivot on their heel and get the hell out of there to enjoy their free day if they were you.

But you just _have_ to see him.

You want to get to know him more. He's quite attractive, and he seems like a really nice guy... Especially on the first day of class, when you left your smartphone behind and he ran all the way to the parking lot to bring it back to you. The breathless way he introduced himself was adorable, and his freckled cheeks make your stomach do flips when you think of them.

Ahhh...

"Need a pen?"

Startled out of your innocent fantasies, you jump nearly two feet in the air before spinning around, only to feel a smile stretch across your features when you realized who it is.

"Alan!" You chirp, feeling your mood drastically improve when he holds out a pen to you and returns your grin. With slightly clumsy fingers and a rapidly beating heart, you take his offered pen. "T-thanks. I kind of spaced out for a second!"

"No problem," he answers patiently while you move to scribble your name on the pink sheet. "I'm guessing he must have taken the day off or something."

"Yeah. Kind of like all the other students, eh?" You reply, waiting for his answer on what's going on. He may not be as well informed as you are on school matters, but the monster news? Everyone who _isn't_ living under a rock knows about that.

"...Are you afraid?" He asks gently after a moment, leaning over to take the pen back and scribble his name under yours. You can feel his body heat from how close he is to your back, and wonder what it means. Does he like you back? So far, everything seems platonic... He's not really dropping any hints your way on the matter.

You bite your lip and pull your small hands together in front of yourself, twiddling your thumbs in embarrassment.

"Maybe...? I don't mean to sound like those monster haters, but to be honest, even other people make me nervous. So I'd like to believe it's just my social issues... However, I'd be lying if I said it was just that entirely," You carefully answer him, darting your eyes away when he begins to look down at you from the classroom door.

"Ah. Well... I'm sure they're not that bad. We actually had a few books on them in the school library and I took a look-see after reading that the school would be taking in monster students now. Apparently they're all made up of magic, unlike us who are made up of water. Know what else they're made of? Love, compassion, and kindness. I'm sure you don't need to worry about a thing," Alan replies with that earnest smile of his, putting his pen back in his backpack. "Well, this is the only class I have on Mondays, so I guess I'll head back home. Need a ride?"

The blood vessels in your cheeks immediately rise up to your cheeks, but you manage to reply, "N-no thank you, I still have business to attend to here. I'll see you on Wednesday!"

Alan chuckles a little, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Alright then, stay safe. See ya!"

And with that, you watch your crush turn away to leave the college campus, leaving you standing by your class with a rapid paced heartbeat.

 _Wow... He's amazing!_ You think to yourself like a dork, resisting the urge to sigh out loud. Too bad you really _do_ have things to attend to, or else, you'd have accepted his offer on the drop of a dime! ...Okay, well, maybe not that fast. You don't want to give away that you like him, after all- at least not in a manner such as that.

A breeze sends a few of your locks flying for a second as you turn to head out of the building, making your way towards another part of the campus that's just a couple meters away. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a group also making their way up there and stop dead like a deer caught in headlights.

Oh no. There they are.

_Monsters._

In a solid group of what looks to be seventeen rather diverse looking monsters, you see a man around your age leading them up to the library, only for him to stop once he spots you. Your body immediately goes rigid at the cruel grin that suddenly curls along his lips, and you have to mentally convince yourself not to run away when he suddenly power walks the rest of the way to you, grabbing your left hand and slapping one of the many free college planners that are still being handed out to all the freshman on campus. After all, it's still the first week of the new semester.

"Ah, there you are (Name)! Can you take care of our lovely new students for me while I deal with some stuff in the admin office? Thanks!" The guy who's name you don't care to remember practically shouts before walking around you and speeding away. You follow his form with astonished eyes, barely able to comprehend what has just happened.

Well, no, you understand _exactly_ what he's just done, that good for nothing staff member...

Clearly he doesn't want to deal with showing the monsters around the campus, so he's dumping the job on _you_ , a well known student (albeit socially awkward girl) in the student body who would more-or-less make his job easier by freeing his money hungry hands of the dirty work he has to deal with on the campus.

Tch... That bastard...

"Um, excuse me... Where's he going?" A soft feminine voice inquires, making you turn to the group and sigh heavily.

 _He's going to laze around the office now that he found a worthless student to do his job,_ you want to say to what looks to be a cute dark purple slime monster with several legs, who wears a red bow tie around her neck and a black blazer over a white beaded blouse.

Instead, you hear yourself reply (reluctantly), "I'll be showing you the rest of the campus actually, so don't worry about him. You guys were headed up to the Library, right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" One other monster chimes in, who appears to be a little spit fire of a thing that has to jump up over the shoulders of the taller monsters to be noticed. For being only three feet tall, you're surprised it's even _attending_ college, but then again, you assume with this many diverse monsters, not all of them could be as tall as regular adult humans.

"Follow me then," you hear yourself say, nervously leading the group up the steps that lead to the large fancy school library. Part of you is internally cursing that staff member for dropping his job on you, and you make a mental note to find out his name after leading the monsters around.

For some odd reason though, there's another part of you, and it's _extremely_ small... That is sort of excited at the prospect of interacting so close with the monsters. It isn't a good reason, but...

Maybe if you get close to them... It could impress Alan.

As you enter the lobby of the library, you turn to face the freshman monsters and offer them your best smile (which isn't actually the best you could muster since you're doing the task reluctantly).

"Well, here's the library. We have a writing center at the very back where students can have their essays proof read for an unlimited amount of times before they're turned in to their professors and all computers are free for students to use as long as you know your student ID number and date of birth. If your password is specially issued, it probably won't be your birthday, in which case you will have to go up to the admin office to request your password. If it's too much of a problem to talk to the staff, feel free to email the school and request it that way," you explain, leading them over to the computer area.

It's then that one of the librarians, a woman with red hair and an ugly Christmas sweater (it's only September...), leans over the counter and taps your shoulder, making you glance over at her in confusion. Upon her gesture for you to get closer, she starts to whisper in your ear.

"Um, we have students studying right now, can you please show the... _special_ _attendants_... a different building? They're going to distract the others," she says, causing a foul sense of annoyance to suddenly fire up in your gut.

You already don't want to show the monsters around, and now this dumb lady wants to make your job harder? Oh hell no. Normally, you aren't much of a confrontational person, but if pushed enough, even _you_ have a snapping point.

"Listen... Do _you_ want to show them around? No? Then please _mind your own business,"_ you hiss, making sure none of the monsters behind you catch what you're saying. "I'm _trying_ to get this over with quickly for your entitled ass- _do_ _n't_  make me take longer. The less you complain, the faster we leave."

You know she can't get you in trouble despite your bad behavior, or she will have to admit to being a bigot (it's _so_ painfully obvious too). As soon as your point has gotten across, she sits back down, but not before staring after you with a snooty glare.

 _Whatever,_ you think, facing the monster students and resuming the tour. "If you guys will follow me, I'll show you the next room over here. We have lots of books free for students to use and borrow outside, however, if they have a red sticker inside the front cover, the book cannot leave the library. If a book does not present a red sticker but still sets off the alarm when leaving the library, take it to one of the librarians to check it it's red tagged or not," you state, already exhausted of hearing yourself talk as you lead the students into the next room, where several small desks are set up, some in use on the bottom floor, but most in use on the second story where people can look down at the first floor to ogle at the new monster students around me.

"Miss Human, can you tell us what kinds of books are available here?" A loud voice startles you out of your sudden boredom, causing you to spin around and narrow your eyes on an ecstatic looking tall skeleton, who wears one of the most outlandish of outfits for someone attending college. To be honest, it looks like colorful... Armor. The kind of armor for battle or war. Between the short torso armor and the hipbone armor you can see his spine between the area from his hip to his upper rib cage, in plain sight for everyone to view moving around with his movements.

"...What's your name?" You demand, your brows creasing in a mild frown as you speak to the monster.

Seemingly oblivious of your reproachful attitude, the skeleton grins wide (though he looks to be already grinning since his teeth are visible due to lack of lips) and slapps his right hand over his ivory chest plate of a top.

"I am the Great Papyrus, at your service, Miss Human!" He announcs far too proudly for your liking.

You cross your arms and clear your throat to speak in a more authoritative manner, but feel the tickle of anxiety playing at the back of your head as you do so. "Well, _Mister Papyrus,_ we're going to have to work on that 'inside voice' you should be using here. In the library, we have to speak in a softer voice, or else we disturb the other students that are trying to study." You scold him, causing the skeleton to slap his hand from his chest to his mouth before nodding and miming a zipping of his teeth.

For some reason, rather than looking like a kicked puppy after you tell him off, this Papyrus looks more _excited_ than anything. It's an odd reaction, to say in the least, but you evidently wave it off and continue with showing the monsters around.

Papyrus says nothing else for the rest of the tour.

After that little quip, the rest of the tour around the campus is, for the most part, dreadfully uneventful.

You showed the monsters the campus, they asked questions here and there... And it was alright. None of them tried to attack or eat you (and by the end, you feel pretty stupid for even considering something like that) and the awkwardness and reluctant feelings from the beginning of the tour have soon faded away as you near the end of the tour.

Of course, you still have a bit of social problems, so you don't count on anything coming out of showing the monsters around- such as a new friendship or anything of the sorts.

Which is why you are shocked beyond belief when a hand suddenly stops you from leaving after you bid farewell to the monsters and turn to head back to the library, the unfamiliar hand clapping down hard enough that you feel like you're going to have bruising later on in the day.

"Halt, Miss Human!" Ah. This atomic explosion of a noise could only come from one person...

You turn to face the tall skeleton from before, only to suddenly shrink back a little now that he stands directly in front of you. Before, he'd been standing at the _back_ of the group with the short spit fire monster, so it was hard to estimate his exact height. With him in front of you _now_ though, he looks to be an astonishing height of either 6'6 or 6'7, enough to warrant him a ticket to be a basketball player or something of the sorts.

Your authoritarian attitude is slipping away.

"What is your name?" He asks, to which you tell him in a squeak due to his intimidating height. He nods in satisfaction before continuing to speak.

"Before, you mentioned we needed to 'work on my Inside voice', did you not?" He inquires curiously, making you blink before answering, "Y-yes, I meant-"

He cuts you off before you can elaborate. Indeed, your authoritative appeal has stripped away completely by that point, making you feel feeble and naked under the skeleton tower's gaze.

"Wondrrful! My brother will be happy to knoe I made a new human friend on my first day! This is my cellphone number, call me when you are free to help me 'work on my Inside voice'!" Papyrus hands you a piece of ripped paper that looks to come out of a page in one of the school planners, his number already scribbled on it in a barely legible handwriting that makes you question whether the digits are actually numbers or letters from a lost civilization.

You look up to ask what the digits are (are you _actually_ considering calling him??) but he beats you to talking.

"Catch you later, Miss Human! Nyeh heh heh!" He boasts, just before turning away and striding to god-knows-where with those crazy long bony legs of his. You'll never catch up with him to ask, even running at a sprint, which you're unwilling to do, mind you.

He leaves you standing by the school cafeteria with the paper in your hand and you jaw parted slightly in shock. Is he for real? He _actually_ thought you were offering to hang out with him one-on-one to work on his inside voice?

How innocent _i_ _s_ that skeleton? Should someone of his caliber really be attending college?

You pout and glance down at the number in your hand. You could always throw it away... But then again, that monster seems like the kind of person that would have no problem confronting you if you failed to call as planned. For the most part, you could probably avoid the situation for a day or two before being questioned, but you'd rather get it over with as soon as possible so you could let him down easily.

You want nothing to do with monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story now has a Tumblr~! :D  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	2. Different Point of View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You attempt putting off the call to Papyrus regarding your plans to hang out, but said skeleton has other ideas! Meanwhile, your best friend Libby plots to change your mind about monsters in general.

Chapter 2: Different Point of View

You're completely spent by the time you make it back to your home, passing Libby's bedroom with Papyrus' scribbled number at hand. There's no questioning your next choice of action. You aren't about to let things escalate. Not with a loud and seemingly obnoxious monster like _him._

 _Alright, I can do this... Just take that paper and rip it to shreds!_ You tell yourself firmly, marching over to the wastebasket in the kitchen and stepping on the bottom lever to open the lid up. _Forget confrontations, I can take him! All I have to say is that I'm not interested in making any friends right now! Problem solved!_

Of course, you already know it can't _possibly_ be that simple...

So you hesitate to throw away the crinkled paper in your hand.

Why are you hesitating though? It's just a number given to you due to a miscommunication. As an individual, you don't _have_ to call him. You don't _have_ to be his friend. You don't _have_ to hang out with him. If he does confront you about it, actually, you could very well brush him off and get on with your life! Because that's what it is- _your_ life! You weren't born into this world to be a people pleaser! Let alone one for those  _freaks_ _._

...Besides, surely that skeleton doesn't _actually_ want to hang out with you. In fact, he's probably playing a dirty trick on you for calling out his behavior in the library! That phone number is probably _phony_ (no pun intended).

"...Damn it," you mutter to yourself. You're still weighing the options of using Papyrus to impress Alan, and for some reason, you feel awful about it despite the tool being a monster. You already know you're a horrible person, maybe it's finally hitting you now?

Alas, rather than just stand there all day contemplating how much of a bitch you are for wanting to do that, you bring the paper back and lift your foot from the waste basket lever, turning away with a scowl and setting the number on the counter by your phone.

You still aren't calling him yet. Two days maximum- _then_ you'll call and hopefully solve the issue. Maybe he'll be so disgusted by your hatred of monsters that he won't want to be your friend in the end!

"(Name), there you are! How was class today? Did you see _Alan?_ Eh? Eh?" A familiar face known as Libby asks, popping relatively out of nowhere and gently nudging your ribs with her elbow as you enter the kitchen to start dinner. You pull out some chicken and fresh veggies from the fridge as you let out a slightly exaggerated groan. Your best friend visibly winces at your reaction. "Oh, sorry about that. What happened?"

Lighting the stove with a match (because college students only have the _best_  kitchen appliances), you start venting to her.

"Today wasn't necessarily _bad,_ per se... It was just kind of hectic. My CIS professor skipped out on class today and then some dumb staff worker from the admin office ended up conning me into showing the new monsters around the campus. You have _no idea_ how much crap I had to deal with while giving them the tour. It was like I was being treated like garbage just for _walking_ beside them," you explain, taking two chicken breasts out and cutting them into bite sizes.

"Mm... Imagine if _you_ were a monster. Your life would be pretty difficult up here, right? Dealing with people like that every day..." Libby comments, her tone attempting to appear like she's joking in order to conceal the obvious disgust that underlines her words.

 _She's talking about your attitude towards monster-kind,_ you brain registers quickly.

You and Libby are complete opposites when it comes to things personality-wise, so it's only natural that the girl fell _head-over-heels_ with monsters when they came out of the Underground. As for yourself... _Your_ head fell straight into your hands during that time.

Due to your difference in opinion regarding the monsters, neither of you tend to bring up the subject during your conversations. For a good reason too, or else you'd both be neck-deep in arguments and malcontent.

Libby's words make you cringe a little, and upon noticing it, your best friend exhales heavily. "Alright, let's not get into that again-" she begins, obviously about to apologize until you put the meat scissors down and completely face her.

"Actually, there's more. One of the monsters on the tour- a skeleton- mistook some words of mine and... Sort of... Gave me his number..." You finish, feeling awkward now that you're hearing the way it sounded.

On cue, Libby's mouth pops open in an 'Oh', moments before shifting into a sly grin that causes your stomach to drop uncomfortably. What's  _that_ look for? She's not thinking what I  _think_ she's thinking, is she...?

"Well, well, _well!_ Was it at least a _cute_ skeleton monster? Oh, no _wonder_ you're so cold towards their species, you have a kinky little thing for them! _Ooh-la-la!"_ Libby sings teasingly, running around you in the kitchen and jabbing at your sides again with her elbow as your face begins to heat up a couple hundred degrees in outrage and embarrassment.

"I DO _NOT!_ Libby, let me finish. I just told him- and this is exactly what I said _word-for-word-_ 'We're going to have to work on that _inside voice_ of yours'. Right after we finished the tour, he came up to me and handed me his number, like, 'Oh, Miss Human, I can't wait to hang out with you and work on my  _inside voice_ _!'_ or something along those lines," you add, attempting your best annoying impression of the self-righteous monster.

For the longest moment, Libby gives you a hundred-yard stare. Once that moment has passed, she is turning away and bending over to wheeze for air, laughing so hard that no sound leaves her other than sharp inhales every few intervals.

 _"Libby!"_ You snap in annoyance, frustration beginning to rise inside of you at your predicament. "I'm serious! I don't know what to do! I can barely talk to other human beings, how do you expect _me_ to converse and interact with a _monster?!"_

At this point you're legitimately begging, honestly stressed out at the idea of merely _calling_ Papyrus. You're a little impatient for Libby's aid, but you allow her a few seconds to catch her breath and calm down while you give Papyrus number a few more nervous glances.

When she does finally look back up at you, she's grinning from ear to ear. "I'll tell you what you need to do, alright... You need to invite him here so I can meet him!"

You feel your heart stop and crack for a fraction of a second, enough time for the hairs on the back of your neck to spring up and your brain to register what she's saying. _"What?!_ No! I don't want him here!" You object in horror.

 _"Chill out._ Invite him over and I'll take care of everything else, okay? Trust me. Just cook the dinner and I'll deal with the conversing," she declares, clapping her hands in excitement. _"Eeek!_ I can't wait to meet him!"

"Oh joy," you drone in a less-than-enthusiastic manner, spinning around to return to cooking dinner. "Can you help me by chopping the vegetables by the way?"

...

By the time you look back up at her due to the silent reply, she's across the flat, ducking into her bedroom with a mischievous smirk.

You narrow your eyes as she shuts her bedroom door, but eventually crack a smile and scoff to yourself once she's gone. Yeah, even though the two of you are polar opposites and have your disagreements from time to time, you know that there's nothing than could ever separate you two from each other. Kind of like soul sisters.

_Beep-beep-beep-beep!_

Disturbing you from your thoughts, your phone blares wildly on the counter area where you have it out of the way of the dinner ingredients. For a good minute, you stand there and fumble with your dirty hands in the air until you decided to use your elbow to answer the smartphone instead.

The number appearing on the screen is unknown, but you recognize the area code from your area. Normally, you ignore unknown calls from strangers, _however,_ you're currently expecting a call for an interview at a local _Sterling Bank_  down the street. At any rate, you're now answering every call that comes to your phone, even though it's taking a suspiciously long time for the bank to call you back... Libby's father owns the entire chain of those banks, so you expected to get a response much sooner.

"Hello?" You speak up, head resting awkwardly on the counter so your phone is properly aligned to the side of your face.

"Greetings! Is this Miss Human, (Name)?" A voice queries enthusiastically on the line. Your eyes go wide like dinner plates, prompting you to lift your head to get a good look at the number on your phone. There's _no_ mistaking that voice, but how the _hell_  is HE calling YOU?!

You lean back down hesitantly, opening your mouth as you struggle to find the right words to respond with. _"Papyrus?_ H-how'd you get my number?" You stammer, feeling your heart pick up speed in fear. Is he _stalking_ you?

"Ah-ha! Success! It was fairly easy, Miss Human! I simply dialed every possible number combination in the area until I got yours!" He gleefully chirps, causing you to go red in disbelief. "I decided I couldn't wait for you to call, so I took matters into my own skeletal hands!"

"Oh, is that so...?" You inquire awkwardly, unsure of what else to say after  _that_ sort of confession. He sure is rambunctious...

"Yes. Now, what will be the plan for our rendezvous, Miss Human?" He continues, seemingly oblivious to your discomfort over the phone.

In that sliver of a second, Libby's words pop back into your head.

_Invite him over and I'll take care of everything!_

That girl is your saving grace!

"S-say, are you busy this upcoming Friday? I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner," you finally manage to bring yourself to ask, beaming in pride after you get it out. Well, that wasn't so hard!

...

And those were the words you would come to regret for the next six days of your miserable week.

"M-Miss human...! Are you asking me out on a  _date?!_ _"_ Papyrus shouts with a flattered cry of joy, causing your eyes to widen even more than you thought possible. In fact, you're shocked they haven't yet rolled out of their sockets. Before you could correct him, his mouth is running again. "SANS! _Sans_ , I'm going on my first  _'second date'!"_ He crows to someone from the other end of the line, speaking like he's just won the lottery or something.

In the back of your mind, you faintly wonder who was desperate enough to have been his _first_ date, but then shove the thought aside. You lift your head and whimper, unsure of what to say or do since Papyrus is _yet again_ jumping to conclusions and hogging the conversation. He _sure_ likes to hear himself talk!

Papyrus voice carries over from your phone on the counter, loud enough that you can pace around the kitchen and still hear him without using the speaker option.

"Miss Human! I will go on this date with you! Allow me to grace you with my presence at six PM sharp on friday night! I am most intrigued to taste what culinary masterpieces you present for dinner! should anything change, I will call you by mobile! Nyeh heh heh! ...Goodbye!"

_Click!_

...

You resign to letting a shriek of frustration rip out from within the depths of your larynx.

 

* * *

 

"You poor thing... Um, maybe you should start visiting the school therapist. I don't think it's healthy to be as high strung as you are all the time," Libby suggests between bites of hibachi chicken and salad, staring from across the table as you push the pieces of your dinner around your plate aimlessly.

You're starting to calm down, but her suggestion sends waves of vexation running through every nerve of your body. It's hard to swallow down your food- not because it's bad or anything- but because the mere _thought_ of dating that childish Papyrus makes your appetite wear thin.

All you _really_  wanted to do next Friday was relax. Maybe play some boring Sudoku puzzles in the playbook Libby had gotten you from the dollar store, and drink hot cocoa like the fucking loser you are (you say this in only the most endearing of ways). Now... _Now_ you have to _babysit_ a monster who thinks you're going on a date with him.

 _My life sucks,_ you think to yourself sourly.

"Anyways, the fact that your kick back has now become a date means that I can't really help you with conversing anymore. I'll be around for moral support if it helps though!" Libby chimes in, causing your fork to drop from your hand when you realize something else quite peculiar.

_Oh... Oh no..._

It never occurred to you until you heard it leave your best friend. No, not the issue that she could no longer assist you, but the date with Papyrus _itself_.

Running through your mind is only one thought, and that thought is that  _you've never been on a date before._ At all. Not even in a cheesy, middle school or high school relationship scenario. No one has _ever_ asked you out on a date.

Technically, they still haven't, considering Papyrus is under the impression _you_  asked _him_. Most guys never ask you since you're reserved and have a prickly personality, or at least that's what Libby has relayed to you, considering you still get plenty of perverse and creepy stares from strangers whenever you take the subway to school.

Either way, regardless of who asked who, your first date will now go down in your history as not with another _normal_ human being, but with a damn _monster._ Way to ruin something meant to be memorable!

...Wait.

Papyrus is a monster. Do monsters have proper genders or gender identities? The skeleton seems to come off as a male to you, but...

Ugh, why does  _that_ matter! You aren't interested anyways. That monster can be whatever gender it wants, either way, it doesn't affect _your_ life.

** Ping! **

** Ping! **

"Um..." Libby begins with a raised brow of confusion as your phone goes off wildly on the counter.

** Ping! Ping! Ping! **

"Your phone..." She continues, watching as you close your eyes and blow out a heavy puff of air.

"Yes, Libby." You open your eyes, shooting the blonde girl a tired stare. "I know."

** Ping! **

"Aren't you going to check it out?" She asks almost emotionless, a tone she only uses when she's trying not to show that she's starting to get aggravated.

"No," you answer simply, your defiance obvious when you grab your glass of water and take a large sip.

At this, Libby stands up and makes her way to the counter, plucking your phone from the surface and quickly unlocking the screen to check who's decided to blow up your phone with text messages.

You watch her brow furrow as she scrolls through the messages, eyes flicking back up to you before returning to the screen of your smartphone.

"Erm... 'Miss Human! For no reason in particular, do you enjoy puzzles?' smiley grin face," Libby reads, causing you to roll your eyes once you manage to finally convince yourself to eat.

Libby continues, much to your chagrin. You just can't eat in peace, can you?

"'I noticed your small color-cube puzzle box hanging from your educational luggage.' Wait, is he talking about your Rubix Cube key chain? Oh that's _adorkable!"_ Libby giggles. "Okay... 'It seems like we may have more in common than I thought! Do you, per chance, enjoy spaghetti as well?'"

Your best friend looks up and gasps, as if you've single-handedly discovered the Holy Grail.

"Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking," you hiss, finishing your water off hastily and pushing away what's left on your plate (which is nearly most of your meal). "I like pasta."

 _"Especially_ spaghetti!" Libby includes, bringing your phone over to you. "Please don't shut him out _just_ because he's a monster. Give him a chance! He has feelings too."

You give the phone a dirty look, but eventually cave to Libby's puppy-dog face. What you really want to do is throw that phone in the nearest toilet you could find, but as it is, you don't have enough money for a new phone to replace it unless absolutely necessary. So you settle for reading the texts like Libby wants, your bestie herself looking over your shoulder to read along with you.

 _'Miss Human!'_ the text reads, _'I have told my brother how well you meet my standards! Though he finds your lack of replies as "interesting".'_

"So he has a brother... I was _wondering_ whether monsters had gender identities," you murmur to yourself, hearing Libby giggle in delight at the sound of your inquisitiveness regarding the monsters.

"For someone so adamant to converse about monsters, you seem _very_ curious!" Your best friend all but purrs, elbowing your shoulder playfully. This attitude of hers... You know it's a bit of a ruse- one with the sole goal of getting you to like monsters. Rather than call her out on it, you simply ignore her words, even if her comments only make you dislike monsters twice as much as before.

 _'I guess that means he approves of you!'_ Is the following text.

 _Overprotective older brother? Or younger brother maybe? I can see him having a brother like that, considering how naive he seems,_ you think to yourself humorlessly.

_'Miss Human, I will be bringing a few of my own culinary masterpieces to our date, so do not fret over dessert!'_

Ugh. There's that word again. _'Date'._ You sarcastically thank the skeleton for the reminder in your head.

You take a look at the most recent message you'd received.

_'I have a sinking feeling that your lack of a response means you are unwell!'_

Damn _straight_ you're unwell. Your first date is going to be with an annoying monster and your three day weekend has shrunk to a _two day_ weekend.

_'Please send at least an emotion-con face to reassure me that you are alright!'_

**Ping!** Your phone receives a new message, vibrating in your hand a little.

_'My brother has corrected me~ I meant "Emoticon"!'_

** Ping! **

_'Like this!'_ there is a promised emoji of a smiley face by the text. _'See? Now you try it!'_ Another smiling emoji s placed at the end, one with its tongue sticking out and a single eye winking.

** Ping! **

_'Miss Human, please don't worry me like this! Tell me you are alright!'_

"Don't be mean, (Name)! He's worried about you, answer him!" Libby insists over your shoulder, her expression an appalled look of disbelief when you simply placed the phone down on the table.

Rather than apologize for your discriminate behavior, you slide the phone over to her and turn away to grab your dishes and take them to the sink. It isn't _your_ fault that the skeleton is a worry wart. What, are you supposed to reassure him and kiss his 'boo-boos' whenever you decide you don't want to answer? You aren't social like that. Even Libby is frequently left hanging whenever the conversation isn't urgent.

Libby shoots you a pointed glare, but snatches up your phone to text Papyrus in your place. Since you have successfully pissed your best friend off yet again, you retreat to the nearby bathroom and lock yourself in for a well deserved shower.

After the day of frustration topped with even _more_ frustration, you extend your shower time to at least one hour. A waste of water, yes, but you don't do this often anyways. You just... You just feel like you really need it this time.

When you finally emerge from the steamy restroom, you notice the thick silence of your home penetrate the cold air like electricity. You have a gut feeling that Libby has excused herself from the place- soon confirmed when you notice a slip of paper and your phone on the kitchen counter beside the scribbled number of Papyrus.

Still clad in simply a white fluffy towel, you approach the paper to see what Libby has written for you.

_'Went for a walk.'_

Oh wow, she's really mad. Normally, she will leave you a note and sign her name with a heart over the 'i'. This time, she didn't even sign the paper, simply scribbling the words with a random red pen that you notice is laying on the floor close to your feet.

You bend down and pluck the pen off of the tile flooring, biting your lip in mild shame and promising to apologize to her once she gets back from wherever she went.

Meanwhile, you decide to take a peek at the messages she sent to Papyrus in your absence.

_'Hello! Sorry, but ____ is taking a shower right now. She's okay though! You're Papyrus, right? I'm ____'s best friend, Libby! :D Nice to meet you!'_

_'Oh! So Miss Human is alright then? Phew, I was quite worried for a second there! I was just searching for her residency in the "Googly Maps!" X3'_

_'Thanks for your concern regarding my bestie. Hey, since you're out and about right now, you want to hang out with me? :3 I really would like to meet you! Where are you at right now?'_

_'Oh, that would be delightful, Other Miss Human! I am currently down by the money-eating phone near Burger King and the Walgreens Pharmacy on Slover Avenue! I will see you soon, Other Miss Human!'_

_'Great! See you soon! ^-^'_

_'What an adorable emoticon! ;w;'_

Once you have finished reading the messages, you notice the large creepy smile that is curling on your face and face palm with a small snicker. WOW, for a second there, you were almost starting to ship Libby with Papyrus like whenever you ship nonexistent characters in stories.

Your small smile drops, and you grimace a little.

For a second there... you almost forgot Papyrus isn't a human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's the next chapter- a little longer than the first. :) Hope it's enjoyable!
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Of The Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	3. Wrong Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Libby seems to be avoiding you, and out of concern, you message Papyrus to see if she's with him- only to find that you've dialed the wrong number.

Chapter 3: Wrong Number 

 

It's Wednesday, and you don't feel any better about your date with Papyrus than you had before. Libby hasn't returned home yet, and you feel like you're rotting away on your desk as you finish homework for your Tuesday and Thursday classes.

To say that you're exhausted of staring at biology facts and Mandarin vocabulary is an understatement. Around that time, you'd usually let yourself into Libby's room and find out if she wanted to go out and see a movie, but seeing that she isn't home, you decide to sit out in the living room and watch some TV for a while.

 _Everything's boring,_ you think in annoyance, pulling your phone out as you begin playing your favorite childhood movie, _The Nightmare Before Christmas._ You decide on sending Libby a message, but hesitate once you start the text.

There's a thought in the back of your mind that hints Libby might possibly be avoiding you, but as soon as the thought surfaces, you push it away and laugh to yourself a little. No way, you've had worse arguments than the one on Monday, and things always clear up afterwards.

 _I could probably text Papyrus and ask if he's seen her,_ you think, backing out of Libby's message thread with revitalized determination. You just want to know if she's doing okay, and if she doesn't want to talk to you yet, you'll leave her alone again. Nothing too invasive, just a friend checking in on another friend.

You scroll through your inbox for the thread with Papyrus, only to come up with a blank and face palm when you remember you'd deleted his messages and calls from your phone earlier in the morning.

His number is still on the counter top in the kitchen though, so you urge yourself onto your feet and drag yourself towards it.

Ironically, only _Libby_ could make you want to text a monster, and she isn't even physically  _here!_

You snatch up the paper and open a new message, thumb at the ready to type the number at hand in. The writing is _god awful,_ like chicken scratch, but since most of the numbers are distinct enough to tell them apart from any other number, you're able to get almost all of it down... Until you reach the last number.

 _Wait. Is that a six or a five? Urgh, curse this chicken scratching! I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHERE MY BEST FRIEND IS!_ You think in frustration, eye twitching as you stare at the infuriating slip of paper in contempt.

(247) 941-811?

Well, at least it's only one number, so you decide to try the number it resembles the best- a six.

_'Papyrus? This is ____, have you seen Libby around??'_

You send the message before you can chicken out, only to slam your phone down when you break into a cold sweat of fear.

Shit. You actually did it. You texted a monster.

...

...?

Why's he taking so long to reply to you though? Normally he likes blowing your phone up incessantly, so what's the hold up now? Is he surprised you'd text him at all after ignoring his previous messages? This morning he sent you a picture of a white bunny with a cartoon sun behind it saying "Good Morning!" so you assume punctuality is not a problem…

**Ping!**

You snatch up your phone, quickly reading the message.

_'shes here, "miss human"'_

At the reply, you nearly do a double take.

No paragraph long reply? No dumb emoticon? No punctuation? _...Quotation marks?_ What crawled up his skeletal ass and died? If it wasn't for the "Miss Human" included, you'd think you had the wrong number!

_'Oh good. Just wondering.'_

You set your phone down and get up to find something to snack while your movie plays, digging through your fridge until you settle on a classic pouch of kettle corn. You're ripping the plastic package open when your phone chimes again, signaling another message.

**Ping!**

Half of you wants to ignore the message again, since you're so good at it, but there's still that nagging sensation that tells you it isn't Papyrus you're communicating with.

It intrigues you.

Setting the popcorn in the microwave and starting it, you hurry back over to your phone and open the new message from the strange number.

_'hope you dont mind that were stealing her from you'_

You feel your features contort into a scowl, slamming your thumbs into place over the virtual keyboard. Of _course_ you mind! She's the only other person usually in the house- her dad barely ever comes back home due to travelling for his businesses!

Before you can even start another message, your phone goes off.

_'you probly do mind though, eh'_

**Ping!**

_'shes awesome btw'_

**Ping!**

_'im sure id find you awesome too if you answered your texts more often'_

**Ping!**

_'bam'_

Your jaw flops open in bewilderment. This _can't_  be Papyrus. There's no damn way- not unless Papyrus has split personality disorder or something. Who are you talking to?

At first, you start a rage message that you hope will convey your exact thoughts on the stranger's accusations.

But then you stop.

Another idea has surfaced, and you snicker quite evilly at the thought. This guy wants to be a troll? Alright. Two can play at that game...

_'*she's'_

_'*"Miss Human"'_

_'*Hope'_

_'*don't'_

_'*You'_

_'*probably'_

_'*She's'_

_'*I'm'_

_'*I'd'_

_'*Bam'_

_'Good enough for ya?'_

Wow. Eleven texts in under a minute. That has to be the most texts you've ever sent to a single person before in one sitting, and you don't even know who you're speaking to.

**Ping!**

You raise your eyebrows in amusement when you read a new text in a new thread, causing your lips to curl in a slight smirk.

_'Miss Human! I have kidnapped Pretty Human for a movie marathon at my residency with my brother! I will escort her back to your home at around eight pm sharp safe and sound. Have a good night! Eat lots of pasta~! :3'_

You KNEW IT! Though if you're right on assuming you have the wrong number, how does the stranger know exactly what you and Papyrus were talking about? How do they know to call you "Miss Human" or that you like ignoring Papyrus' text messages?

Your mind is about to jump to stalkers again until you notice the number on the screen in the thread with the real Papyrus.

(247) 941-8115.

The other number, the strange one, is (247) 941-8116.

_...Oh-hoho. Didn't Papyrus JUST say he has a brother? A brother by the name of "Sans"? The two must have gotten their phones at the same time to have such a close number- only one digit off and I contacted Mr. Overprotective Pants instead!_

**Ping!**

You hate to admit how excited every message you get makes you, but you pick up your phone without wiping the smile off of your face. What reaction will he have this time?

_'well played.'_

You grin wide enough to split your face in half.

_'I try. For now though, I've got things to do. Goodbye, Sans.'_

You hit send and jump out of your seat, running around the house in a rush of excitement. _HA! That's right, I know your name and I know your game, sukka!_ You think victoriously.

There really isn't any reason for you to be so happy about your little war with Papyrus' brother, but for some reason, the exchange excites you so much. You throw yourself on the couch back first and kick your feet around, right before lifting your head and looking up when you phone lets out that familiar lovely **Ping!** of a noise.

Instead of getting up and walking like a normal person, you roll off the couch and crawl on all fours towards the counter, pulling yourself up with the blue marble surface.

_'snow. dont go'_

You snort at what you're reading. Was that supposed to be a _pun?_ Obviously, this gentleman doesn't know who he's dealing with.

_'Icy you'll miss me lots. But don't worry, I snow your number now.'_

Sent! Your nerves scream at you to end the conversation, but instead, you grab your kettle corn from the microwave and sit down to continue texting Papyrus' brother.

**Ping!**

_'you arent as bad as your friend made you out to be'._

Your smile recedes and a wave of sadness runs up your spine. What? Libby told them about you? Did she tell them bad things about you? Why would she do that? ...Well, you are kind of an asshole for being a racist against monsters, so obviously she'd tell them that...

**Ping!**

_'you actually seem pretty cool'._

** Ping! **

_'but thats just cause you forgot right?'_

You frown in confusion. Forgot about what?

_'Forgot what?'_

His reply comes pretty quick this time, without even a full minute passing in the time since your last response.

**Ping!**

_'You forgot I was a monster, didn't you?'_

The grammatically correct message makes the now heavy-as-lead phone slip out of your hand, landing a few inches too close to your bare toes as it clatters against the tile of the kitchen. All your previous excitement and glee from before is gone as you take your popcorn to the living room, leaving your phone to rot where it's landed.

_Right... Papyrus is a skeleton. If he has a brother... That would mean that his brother is a skeleton too._

There's a ridiculous hope that maybe he's an adopted human or something, but you know that hoping for a miracle like that is pathetic and stupid. Sans has made it very clear that he's a monster in his last text, and it's gotten the right response out of you.

**Ping!**

You raise the volume of the TV to cover the sound.

You don't want to see the next messages, you don't want to talk to _anyone_ anymore. Maybe it's better that Libby's over there, she certainly seems to like _them_ more than she likes _you_... Plus, if she was here to see how you're reacting right now, it would only start another disagreement.

**Ping!**

With a groan, you get back up and walk over to your phone against your better judgment, snatching the device up and looking at the message thread you've left open.

_'its okay if you dont like us'_

_'but i just have one thing to say about all of this...'_

There's no other message past that, so you assume he's done texting- until you hear that stupid **Ping!** while you're in the middle of shoving your smartphone back in your pocket. You bring your phone back out and glance at the messages.

_'If you hurt my brother in any way, **you're going to have a bad time.'**_

You nearly drop your phone again, but this time you're prepared and well aware that one more fall would prompt you to get a new one, causing you to desperately fumble until you have it firmly in your grasp again. The chills that run up your spine are very real, and for the first time in a long time, you feel something different as opposed to the usual things you feel on a daily basis.

It's unexpected how down to earth Papyrus' brother seems in comparison to the 'Great Papyrus' himself. His threat isn't vulgar in any way or manner, but it gets the message across relatively easy.

Considering the way the conversation had suddenly gone downhill, you didn’t want reply back to him.

Better to pretend that the conversation never happened…

Your fingers dance along the keyboard against your will. A feeling of pride at being rebellious to the normal status quo of your lifestyle boils to the surface for only a sliver of a moment as you hit send.

_'Understood.'_

There's no reply from Papyrus' brother for the remainder of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tee hee, this one's short, but I have another chapter already ready to go. just need to tweak it in a few parts, but I should be up in maybe thirty minutes. :D
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	4. The 1st Degree of Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heading home from class, your week spikes from bad to worse when the unimaginable happens on the night before your date with Papyrus.
> 
> [WARNING!: This chapter is a little graphic and is not for the faint of heart! Well, I personally don't think it's much, but I ought to add the WARNING just in case. Also, update- I've edited the scene and taken out the call to Papyrus while she's kidnapped. In In hindsight, I liked the idea, but I feel as if it doesn't add to the situation much)

Chapter 4: The 1st Degree of Chaos

Every day, your resolve to getting the ridiculous date over with wanes and wavers with your confidence. Every day, you go to class and catch yourself wondering what you could do to avoid said date instead of listening to your teacher and the subject matter of your classes. Every _fucking_ day, you feel more and more like tossing yourself along the subway tracks whenever your ride arrives.

 _I hate this,_ you think to yourself, stepping onto the subway train along with several other people you don't care to look at. Some are monsters, most are humans. You're comfortable in the presence of neither of them.

You have your backpack slung over one shoulder, holding two heavy textbooks over your chest as you wait to get off at the correct stop. Tomorrow is Friday, the dreaded day you begin preparing for your first 'date'. Actually, as you progress with your week, you decided that since it's happening due to a misinterpreted conversation, it doesn't count as an official date.

It's simply going to be a get together over dinner with a monster. Simple as that.

Patching things up with Libby after she had gone off to hang out with Papyrus on Wednesday went better than expected. She ended up having such a good time with Papyrus at the arcade near the bay and at his place that she'd been all smiles and cheer when she came back home… Not to mention sleepy, since she went straight to bed five minutes after you cornered her to apologize.

Not to say she isn't still miffed at you for not texting Papyrus back yet, but at least she doesn't utterly hate your guts anymore.

You don't tell her about the fact that you'd been momentarily shipping her with Papyrus. To get the thought of shipping them out of your head, you'd abruptly deleted all the “Libby-central” messages from Papyrus off of your phone, along with any others you may have had with classmates and the many calls in your phone's recent memories.

You can’t bring yourself to delete the messages between you and Papyrus' brother though.

You haven't saved either of their numbers in your phone yet, but figure you have all the time in the world to do it since you now have both their numbers memorized.

It hadn’t been your goal to memorize them, but after the frequent returns to re-read the texts from Sans, you found the numbers popping in your head easily.

The thought that you can’t get the conversation with Papyrus' brother out of your head drive you half mad, and you feel dirty for continuously thinking about them. If he was human... He would make for a pretty cool friend...

...

As soon as the subway train screeches to a stop in your area, you pile out with a handful of people, two of them being monsters and the rest being normal humans.

The two monsters look to identify as female, one a crocodile with blonde hair and the other a purple cat with short black hair. You can see the way the humans in the subway shoot the monsters dirty looks, their eyes grating along the two monsters forms as they pass with stiff composure. The monsters look nervous to be around so many humans.

Rather than join the other humans in giving them dirty looks, you ignore what's happening and quickly climb the stairs to enter the streets of the city. You don't care enough to discriminate against them- you have better shit to do. Plus, you're too exhausted with your day to get involved anyways.

Meanwhile, the two monsters hastily follow after you, just a few steps behind your heels as you walk along the street sidewalk and pass the stores and many cafe shops. You could see the top of Mt. Ebott high above the streets and buildings, a couple hundred miles North away from your city.

 _They should have just stayed there..._ You think sourly, once again unable to resist thinking about Friday's date.  


**Ping!**  


**Ping!**

You pull out your phone as you hurry past the people on the street, going over a crosswalk as you look to see who has just messaged you. Considering your social life, and your fight with Libby, it's pretty obvious who's sent you this text...

However, you're disgusted that a part of you hopes it's Papyrus' brother again.

Of course, it's none other than the ever so frequently texting Papyrus himself.

It's shocking that he's still messaging you even though you haven't responded to even a _single_ one of his messages. He will usually comment on something, and then stop messaging after a bit. You assume that maybe he has Libby's number and she's just taking care of everything instead.

That has to be it, considering he no longer brings up the fact that you don't respond to his text messages.

_'Miss Human! I regret to inform you that I have decidedly stolen Pretty Human away again this afternoon for a mighty session of action figure battle scenario training! She seems quite capable! I have no doubt she would be well accepted into the Royal Guard! ...Well, if the Royal Guard still existed.'_

As it is, in the last two days since meeting Papyrus, Libby hasn't been around the house all that much anymore.

Usually, she works at the bank (the one you're applying at) nearly on a daily basis, while taking a few classes at the community college you and Papyrus attend. She's usually back home around five, six if it's a busy day at the bank or at school.

Now, she tends to go straight to wherever Papyrus lives.

You'd be lying if you said it didn't bother you even a little bit. Your problem isn't that she's hanging out with monsters, 'cause in your opinion, you're fine with anyone who likes monsters. If you _did_ have a problem with other people liking monsters, you wouldn't have still been friends with Libby, after all.

It's not like you have any right to dictate another person's life, your only right is that you yourself don't like them, and you aren't about to let anyone force you to change your mind about it without a good reason, therefore, you don't expect the opposite scenario to be true either.

No, your problem is that you're starting to feel lonely now. You like your quiet time alone, but too much and it puts you on edge. Currently, the only time you're seeing Libby is when she comes home at night and abruptly goes to bed, with only a shared 'hello' before you find her already gone in the morning.

You figure your apology didn't appease her as much as you thought it did after the fight over messaging Papyrus.

Regardless, you take a look at the second message Papyrus has sent you.

_'You're welcome to join us any time, Miss Human! My residence area is Mayberry and Brookhurst, apartment complex 34 at the Lemon Hills! :D'_

For a while, you stare at your phone screen, only to realize you've stopped walking all of a sudden when someone bumps into your shoulder while passing you.

"Move it, short stack," a man snaps, hurrying on ahead without a glance back at you when you start walking again in embarrassment.

A small part of you wants to attempt winning Libby back by surprising them with a message, but you have a thought that Libby will recognize it as just that- not a step towards accepting monsters, but a lie to make her _think_ it is.

Well... Maybe if it's a small reply?

You turn into your usual cafe and walk in, moving into the short line and pulling your debit card out to get a quick white mocha espresso. Might as well since you aren't in a hurry to see anybody at home...

As you wait, you quickly type out a short message and hovered a thumb over the send button, stuck in midair as you struggle to hit it.

It takes you until it's time to pay before you change your mind and quickly delete the message, stuffing the phone back in your pocket and ordering a small drink.

You're waiting again, and the urge to just send a message is beginning to win over your resistance to stay quiet as per usual. Unfortunately, you bring your phone out again and retype, not hesitating to hit send because you know you'll back out again if you don't act on it fast enough.

Your message is short just like you wanted. Probably too casual, but you're far to annoyed with your inherent decision to worry about formalities.

_'ok'._

No capitals, no punctuation. Just a simple understanding of what's going on.

To your shock, you get a message literally nanoseconds after hitting the button to send it.

_'YOU ANSWERED!!1!11!'_

You feel a crooked smile curl at the corner of your lips, but rather than send another reply, you take to deleting the messages and turning your phone off altogether so you aren't tempted to converse anymore.

One message is enough for now. Maybe you'll send another later on if the date went well or something... Ha.

Your smile is vaporized instantly and you sigh in remembrance. Right. The date.

Once you have gotten your espresso, you're out the door like a bullet. You make eye contact with no one, you avoid brushing against anyone passing by, and you cling to your backpack as if it's a lifeline.

In all actuality, you could have avoided these situations simply by taking your car to school ('cause you do have one) but Libby insists you only use it for emergencies due to air pollution. Honestly, you really couldn't care less for the O-zone layer, but you oblige since... Well, she's your best friend. You'd do anything for your soul sister.

...

It's half past five and it's starting to get dark now. The sunset is already halfway hidden behind the mountains, but despite that, you aren't the least bit nervous about walking in the dark. No one's ever bothered you while walking home at night before, and you do this often enough to know the layout of every alleyway in case something  _does_ happen to occur. The last two years have been assault-free, so this drives your belief that the area isn't as dangerous as people think it to be at first sight.

The air is a sticky humid temperature despite it being halfway through September. Your feet are starting to hurt from so much walking, but not too badly since you have on some sporty comfort sneakers on each foot to shield you from swollen blisters. If you're forced to run for any reason, be it because of rain or maybe a dangerous monster, your sneakers would surely aid you.

You're forced to pass through a couple of alleys to get to your home street, a short cut you take pride in since it shaves off a good thirty minutes of going around all the buildings a.k.a. the "safe" route. Only thing is that one part of the alley ways are sketchy as _hell_. Of course, as decided before though, anything bad that could happen hasn't happened in the past, so they can't _possibly_ come to pass anymore...

Right?

 _Nearly past the sketchy area,_  you think to yourself, skirting past a familiar back alley of a pub for dancing girls, the back of the neon sign that decorates the run-down building illuminating the puddles along the alley with bright colors that seem to suck in all light from around. Originally, you'd been wearing a black sleeved denim jacket, but decidedly peeled it off and left it tied around your waist the second the temperature had risen. Due to only having that espresso from earlier without a sandwich to pair it with, your stomach is currently growling and bubbling uncomfortably enough to put you in a worse mood than before you drank it.

Also, for some inexplicable reason, your phone's decided to go and die on you despite you having turned it off earlier to avoid conversing with Papyrus. Now it doesn't even blink on to tell you it's dead or low on battery. The battery of your phone has been quite unreliable as of late- so you really have no one but yourself to blame for the early demise of communication services. You should have purchased that deal on  _Amazon.com_ to ship you a new battery for half the price last week when it was still a valid deal...

 _Of all the times it could die on me, it has to be in the alleys, eh?_ You muse with a sour expression of distaste, accidentally stepping into a deep puddle and wetting your socks through your sneakers. You curse under your breath at your horrendous luck.

"Excuse me!"

The sound of a male voice makes you whirl around abruptly, pausing only for a moment to see if it's necessary to start running for your life. Much to your relief, even though you hear the voice of a human man, his right arm hangs uselessly in a sling over his chest. With an injury in the most commonly dominant hand, you relax... But only a little bit.

He stops once he has your attention, turning a smidgen to gesture towards a small Fiat along one of the alleys and wearing a sheepish grin that's reminiscent of the smile Alan usually gives you when you talk to each other. You can feel your guard slowly dropping the longer you stare at this stranger's face- which is a welcoming and handsome visage of friendliness and warmth. 

"Sorry if I'm bothering you, ma'am, but could I ask for a favor? My arm's kind of banged up and I'm trying to get some books into my trunk. Do you think you can help me?" He asks, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly with his good hand as he waits for you to answer.

You consider refusing and leaving, like you normally do to other strangers that you meet, but this time you're dumbly snared in his charming gaze. Instead of listening to your instinct that says it's better to go straight home due to the hour of night it is, you cave in and head on over to the man. His face breaks into an expression of relief at your movements, which causes pity to fill your gut. Maybe he's been refused several times already?

"Thank you so much... I thought I was going to be stuck here forever!" He laughs lightheartedly, causing you to return a soft smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes despite the strange butterflies that fill your stomach as you step up beside the good looking stranger.

To be honest, you don't really have a clear answer as to _why_ you give in to helping him. You've met plenty of good looking men in need of assistance at the college, and frankly, you've rejected helping plenty of them due to lack of time or resources. It certainly isn't because you're trying to be a good Samaritan or get closer to him.

No, if anything, you just want to stall for extra time outside, enough for Libby to return home so you'll be the one to come home to her rather than her come home and lock herself in her bedroom before you can utter a word. Maybe she'd worry and talk to you if you weren't home at the normal time... It's a stupid idea, but at this point, you're desperate for just one kind word out of her than bitter silence.

You follow the man to his Fiat, noting the terrible paint job that's done to color its surface entirely brown. The paint found its way onto a bit of the tires and the black handles of the doors, with some pain splattered along the edges of the side windows. Needless to say, the car looks like it's paint job was made by a kindergartner that colored outside of the lines.

"Car's a mess, I know. I'm hoping to give it a red color later- the guy I bought it off of wasn't too handy with paint," the man comments with a casual eye roll, picking up one box of books from the damp blacktop of the alley (they all look to be college textbooks) with one hand and dragging it to the back, where the trunk of the Fiat is already open to reveal five boxes neatly lined at the very back.

While the man pushes the next box in with much effort, you yourself grab one of the fifteen or so leftover boxes aligned beside the car, wondering what a man in a Fiat is doing with so many college textbooks. In the end, as you move to slide the box inside of the trunk, you decide that maybe the guy's just a collector of unorthodox objects.

...Unfortunately for you, the second you lean in to push the box further, something connects roughly with the back of your head and sends you spiraling into darkness.

 

* * *

 

You awaken with a start when a movement jostles a box into smashing against your face, making you sit up and blink your eyes the darkness rapidly. A wave of nausea and dizziness washes over you, but you're far too confused about the boxes in your immediate surroundings to worry about why you feel so crappy.

Automatically, your hand reaches down for your phone, until it pauses halfway when another jerking of the ground makes you recall what last happened.

A man asked you for help with putting boxes of textbooks in his trunk... And then nothing. You're no idiot, you could put two-and-two together, especially since you can feel your ankles tied together with tape along with the tape tightly binding your hands behind your back. There's tape even covering your mouth as well, wrapping sloppily around your head and sticking to your hair as uncomfortable as the other bindings.

The car stops and you rest back on your side, curling up a little and ceasing any movements in fear of the driver (no doubt the lying book guy from before) hearing that you're awake.

You hear a car door open and then shut, footsteps following and leading away from the car much to your immense relief. As soon as you sit up to determine your solitude in the car, you pull your phone out with much effort and tap the "ON" button before remembering that it's dead. With a whimper of frustration, you begin to relentlessly press on it, despite being unable to see the screen.

Surprisingly, just when you're about to give up, the phone lights up the dark trunk and a familiar jingle fills the silent void. Half of you is relieved, the other half is horrified.

You roll over to stifle the light with your body, deciding to use your nose to unlock the phone, which you fail at twice before getting through on the third time. It's a struggle to dial any numbers correctly, the sweat from the pores of your nose staining the screen with oil as you desperately peck to and fro to perfectly input 911 for the police. After tapping, deleting, fixing, and accidentally even leaving the dial pad altogether on one inaccurate peck much to your frustration, you finally have the correct number inserted. With little to no hesitation, you peck the call button carefully, making sure not to tap the "End Call" option on accident like you did prior.

_Riiiing..._

_Riiiing..._

"St. Eb--t 911, what is th- --act location of y--r emerge-cy?"

"MMMM! MMMMmmm!" You start yelling through the duct tape gag when the call connects much to your relief, deciding that your phone call will go to waste if you don't start making some noise to get a point across. Due to the tape, you can't very well explain what's happening, and you're _damned_ if they don't try to find a way to locate you via satellite to your smartphone.

"Hello? Is an--ody th-re?" The cracked and static voice of the woman on the line queries, resulting in a frown to appear on your face as you attempt to make louder noises closer to the speaker. It isn't until you lean in closer that you mentally curse when you see you've accidentally hit  _'hold'_ sometime in the process when you'd been typing in the number. You make haste to try and turn it off, but the wetness of your noise makes the sensor of the screen oblivious to your commands.

** Click! **

Just as you get the server off hold, the call ends much to your dismay, leaving you making a strange wail as you see your chances of going home plummet with the call.

You manage to redial without the hassle of typing the number _all over again_ , despite the current results.

"St. Eb-ott 911, what is the exact location of your emerge-" You don't even get the option to talk to this new server, as the line immediately cuts dead before he even finishes his opening greeting. You're so caught up with the shock of the ended call and truly begin to sob when no amount of redialing brings back the light, tears beginning to slide down your face and nose running over the silencing tape.

The trunk snaps open, to your immediate disbelief and alarm. You swing your head around, eyes unfocused as a blast of adrenaline releases across your defenseless body at the feeling of being caught red handed doing something you're not supposed to be doing.

"Hey, what the HELL are you doing?!" The familiar man from before shouts, face no longer charming and arm no longer in the sling prior to putting you in the trunk. He reaches in and moves to grab at the back of your hair and the tape, forcefully attempting to drag you out until you start to react to the situation properly.

With a fierce growl, you start to violently kick out and aiming your bare heels (where have your shoes gone?) at the man's face. Several times, he jerks back to avoid any damage, but eventually he grows tired of your struggles.

He pulls something out from his pocket unexpectedly, and just like before, you're completely caught off guard when he shoves past your tied legs and slams a fist down against the side of your stomach.

You squeal at the foreign sensation at the side of your belly and shudder uncontrollably, confusion taking hold of you as your body immediately halts any and all planned movements. At first, it feels cold and stings a _lot_ , but once time begins to pass, you start to relax and stop moving so much. He lifts it from you and brings it back down against your lower back, the object no longer stinging you as it slams back down against your body. If you could describe it better, it feels like he's trying to bruise you, only...  _Different._

There isn't much you can do, other than try and kick him some more... But with your body all tied up like that, you don't stand a chance. Every limb is getting heavy for some reason, and a strange sleepy feeling is making your eyelids as heavy as lead.

...So you give up.

"That should shut you up for a little bit..." The man speaks up almost casually, voice sounding rather distant than it had previously. He plucks the phone from in front of where you lay, allowing you to watch with half lidded eyes as he lifts it to his line of sight and tries to turn it on. When it does not light up upon pressing down on the power button, he tosses it at your face with a snort of malignant amusement.

"Nice try," He says to you as you flinch when the heavy device makes contact with your face. You're just so tired...

When you make no other movements, he silently shuts the car's trunk. Following that, the car starts up again and you become hyper aware of your sudden need to fall straight to sleep. Your face rests on the bottom of the trunk, which you only then notice is not really a trunk, but the back seat area of the Fiat- only with its seats ripped out to expand trunk room.

Something of a dark liquid runs out from your back and side, making you frown gently in confusion. It wets your tear stained cheeks, but you're unable to get a good smell of what it is with so much snot running from your nostrils.

 _Am I bleeding...?_  You wonder softly as you rub your face against the liquid in an attempt to find a stable area to push yourself up in. No matter how much effort you put into your movements though, you are unable to sit up. That must have be why you feel so tired... If you're lucky, you'll bleed out before you discover what this man wants you dead or alive for. In your personal opinion, you'd rather actually die than be tortured in any sort of way.

You hate how sad the thought makes you, but other than a twitch of your eyebrows, you feel nothing but pity for yourself and sleepiness. Evidently, pity begins to transform into fury, and you feel your face contort into a sneer under the tape. You hate feeling so weak and scared. It makes you so angry and hopeless that even more tears spring out from the corners of your eyes. You're terrified. Every nerve of your body desires to fight back, but the need to curl into yourself in fetal position wins out your fury as you take deep, nearly impossible breaths through your nose despite the amount of buildup snot residing in either nostril.

You wish horrible things towards the driver who's snatched you from that alley. The one time you finally show someone who _isn't_ a college student kindness, and what happens? He shoves you in a trunk and kidnaps you.

Well, since you're obviously about to die, why not go all out?

Screw _Papyrus_ _!_  If he hadn't hogged your best friend so much this past week, maybe you'd have gone straight home like the heartless bitch you are to greet her and make s'mores for movie night.

You shouldn't be stuck in the back of a truck. You should be at home taking a warm bath or reading a book in the living room! ...What time is it anyways? Maybe you'd be sleeping, depending on the hour.

Besides that there, where the _hell_ has your best friend been? You thought your minor arguments with her couldn't really get in the way between your friendship, but _clearly_ you've miscalculated. One refusal to converse with a monster, which is _your_ decision for _your_ life, and _**POOF!** _ She's gone like the wind.

And _you_. You just _had_ to trust someone again. You should have known it would end badly. Everybody is horrible. No one cares for each other in this world... Given the correct circumstances and situation, you know that people would show their true selfish colors. Hell, you even count _yourself_ as one of those selfish people too. People just drag each other down. They give each other flowers after running it through sewage water.

They. All. Lie.

_**BOOM!** _

You jerk forward, snapping out of your enraged and self-pitying daydreams back into the nightmare of reality, the knife you're suddenly aware of still stuck in your back shifting uncomfortably to the shaking of the Fiat. If your heartbeat had been slowing down as you got closer to sleep during your mental rambles, it is now accelerating to a dangerous speed- like it could burst out of your chest at any moment. The feeling of such unfamiliar levels of terror stun you into shock. You can't move, not even an inch. You're scared of hitting the knife against something and pushing it deeper into you. You're scared of angering the driver that's kidnapped you.

In hindsight, you used to tell yourself you'd never let someone kidnap you or hurt you without a fight... Now that the situation calls for action though? You're far too scared to even lift up a finger to preserve your own life. In fact, you're far more scared of the idea of pain than you are of actually  _dying._

"SHIT!" The driver shouts in a rising panic, which sounds muffled to your ringing ears as you lay in the trunk like a doll. Oddly enough, you figure you should probably panic if the driver himself is panicking, but your senses feel slowed to an excruciating level. Everything is heavy... Your mouth feels cottony... Your original fear is beginning to replace itself with curious sleepiness.

 _What's happening...?_ You wonder, blinking your eyes slowly to clear your vision. You slowly blink to no avail.  _I feel so tired... I can't move..._

The car feels as if it rolls over a sharp dip, making the car jump and sending your heavy body flying up against the roof of the vehicle. It feels as if the car's been driven off of somewhere high, as you feel the twisting of your stomach when a weightless sensation passes you for a moment before throwing your body back down against the floor of the trunk.

Water surges past you much to your sleepy surprise and you exhale shakily, watching as the liquid rises up from semi cracked windows to claim whatever's inside- including your immovable body. This makes your sleepy mind terrified once more, as you feel water begin to creep it's way through the fabric of your clothing and your hair. You're barely able to stay conscious, and your breathing picks up with the cold stab of water as it soaks your limbs and sensitive belly.

With the way the water has shifted your hair, and the fact that one eye is now submerged in the darkness of liquid, you can't see what's happened to your kidnapper. There is no noises in the car though, save for the movement of water and your increased heavy breathing as you wait for the water to cross over your nose. You have to move, or else it's all over.  _You have to move._

You let out a horrible groan of pain as you forcefully jerk your body belly up, wincing when the knife in your back hits the bottom of the car much to your chagrin. It's extremely difficult, and you soon find yourself stuck once again as the water coats both your ears and starts lifting you from the car floor. You're beginning to float to the top of the car slowly, and you hate knowing what will happen as soon as the pocket of air finishes filling up at the top, especially since it's filling up quickly.

You test your muscles, but they no longer refuse to obey as you find the water finishing it's way to the last pocket of air. You're still really sleepy... 

...Maybe it won't be so bad...

...

You take one small last breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas~! Hope everyone has a good night (or day)! :3
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	5. Scaled Saviors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the car you were being kidnapped in crashes into a lake of some sorts, you're under the impression that it's all over for you! ...Is it though?

Chapter 5: Scaled Saviors

"...(Name)! Don't give up hope yet... Stay determined...!"

"You must get back up... Keep going...!"

_"You are our future...!"_

**_"Save us...!"_ **

 

*****************************

 

Your eyes snap open to an unfathomable darkness around you, a weightless darkness that makes you confused about whether you eyes are really open or not. Despite the darkness, you feel your hair floating around you, tickling your face and neck as you awaken from unconsciousness. Your arms are still painfully tied behind you, and you feel your fingers twitch uncomfortably as the sensation of numbness settles along your hands.

It takes you a second too long to realize you're underwater, despite noticing how weightless you feel.

...And then another second to notice that you aren't actually holding your breath. To be honest, you don't really know _what_ you're doing- you just know that what you _ar_ _en't_ doing is drowning. It's jarring to feel absolute nothingness- or stranger yet, _comfort-_  when your reasoning tells you that you should be feeling like your lungs are going to explode right about now. 

Well, at least you're not drowning _yet_ , but you rationalize that you'll soon be jumping that hurdle before you know it..

Putting that knowledge to use, you begin to squirm around wildly, bubbles excessively floating up from your nose and the tape. Your body jerks in every imaginable direction as you make a valiant attempt to break free of the binding tape around your wrists and ankles.

As time continues to pass, your struggles gradually begin to cease until you're left floating in that aquatic nothingness, drained of all previous determination and stamina. Now your only stimuli is the pain of the binds around your raw wrists and the tickling of bubbles that brush against your nose and lashes when you sigh under the duct tape.

_Well, this is fruitless..._

You blow more air from your mouth out of curiosity, feeling it gently escape the air gaps of the tape. As you continue to do so, you realize just how odd it is that you still have air to release. There's no familiar rise and fall of your chest nor the discomfort in the area where your lungs reside... But if you have to admit something, you _are_ having a bit of a stomach ache.

 _I know I have an amazing pair of lungs, but this is ridiculous!_ You think to yourself with a frown of confusion.

A theory clicks in the back of your mind, making your eyes widen in horror at the thought.

Are you maybe... _Already dead?_

You start to panic again, squirming wildly to make sure the pain around your wrists and ankles isn't just your imagination. People usually use pain to determine if they're asleep or not- maybe pain means you're still alive as well!

Then again... How are you to know there's no pain after death? It's a ridiculous assumption to say the afterlife may have pain... But it's just as ridiculous to assume it doesn't.

What if you were a ghost already? A ghost doomed to repeat your death over and over until the end of time?

 _I didn't even get to properly patch things up with Libby,_ you realize, feeling a wave of despair wash over you at the thought. _Congrats, me. You got just what you wanted. You're alone again. Libby probably doesn't even know I've gone missing yet..._

As you begin to ponder what you would have written in your will given the chance, a hopeful thought makes itself known- peeking out from a dark corner in your mind.

 _What if I'm_ not _dead?_

That thought terrifies you more than the thought of being dead. What does that mean for you? There's absolutely no way you can still be alive, not with how long you've been underwater from the point of waking up.

...But what if you _were?_

You don't want to think about it.

A strange noise, like a bunch of muffled bubbles, comes from the water above you.

Your heart literally stops when you hear the sound reach your ears. It's coming from somewhere directly above you and sort of far away... If you're indeed alive, how far down did you sunk with the Fiat and the disgusting girl-napping book guy?

You still can't see anything, and for a moment, you start to wonder if you've just imagined the noise. Maybe you _ar_ _e_ dead. Maybe those are divers searching for your body.

You flinch a little when two strong arms wrap around your waist and start to swiftly swim upwards, surprising you with their speed. Ah, it's probably an angel there to fetch your lost soul to either drop you in the pit or take you to heaven.

...Or not?

You break through the surface of water with the aid of your savior, a breeze chilling your wet skin as you're pushed up into the arms of another. Curious to what's going on, you blink your eyes a little, but can only make out odd shapes through the glassy blur of your iris lenses. There's a bright light, probably from a car since you're able to hear the sound of a running engine, making it incredibly difficult to open your eyes after being underwater in pitch black darkness for so long.

"I think the asshole's still down there..." A female voice spits out from behind you, which you listen to intently since your eyes are currently out of order. She sounds rather pissed off about something, but whatever the reason is, you're in the dark about it. Quite literally.

"W-what are you waiting for then?" A nervous voice asks, coming from the figure that's currently guiding your body down against dirt and rocks to work on cutting through the tape around your wrists. You mentally praise the strangers for their efforts.

"...I say we just leave the prick down there," the female voice behind you suggests casually, shifting out of the water in a way that lets you hear droplets splash against the lake behind you.

 _"Undyne!"_ The other female voice objects indignantly, just a your hands are cut loose from the tape.

 _"Alphys! Waaahh! Waaaaaaahhhhhh...._ Come on! He was trying to _kidnap_ someone, he deserves it!"

"T-two wrongs don't make a right!"

...

"UGH. Fine."

Following Undyne's words is another loud splash of water as she audibly dives back under. Meanwhile, you're pulling at the tape around your mouth with pruny fingers, desperate to open your mouth and get the water out of it. None of it is stuck in your airways or anything, just in your mouth. The reason you want it out so bad? It tastes  _nasty._

"Here, I-I'll get that off for you...!" The one called Alphys replies with an audibly nervous tone, just as you feel the tape loosen.

You probably should be more careful, but instead of slowly removing the tape from over your mouth, you hastily rip it off with a wince. That's going to leave you one _hell_ of a mark.

Water gently drains from your mouth, forcing you to hunch over and turn away from you other savior when the aftertaste makes you begin gagging violently. Alphys gently rubs your back to help you relax.

You nearly groan, but your gagging makes it impossible to do so at that moment. Her hand had felt strange when she was helping you take a seat, and as soon as you feel her hand rub your backside gently, you realize why.

It's _not_ a human hand. Your saviors are  _monsters_ , one that can swim extremely fast, and the other with sharp claws and rough skin. For a second, you're distraught by the situation- until you remember that they pretty much saved you from drowning back there.

 _Whatever. I was doing just fine down there, in my opinion..._ You think sourly to yourself in defiance, taking the moment after that thought to wonder what Libby would think of you following such heroic acts from the monsters here.

"U-umm... I-I hope you don't mind monsters or anything!" Alphys blurts out, voice nervous and tense as she speaks. You pause when you process her words. "Er, I probably shouldn't have started with that..."

 _Nervous much?_ You think humorously despite the circumstances.

You open your mouth to reply with a simply reassurance- only because she seems quite similar to you. You aren't really a _shy_ person, but you enjoy your solitude from time to time. This monster seems like the type to be solitary as well... And dare I say it, it's somewhat refreshing. Even if she _is_ a monster... Not to say you like her because of it, you personally hope that they will help you get home and then never talk to you again. It's better that way, you had enough to deal with concerning Papyrus.

'It's okay', you're about to say, only to break off into a fit of violent coughs, which prompt you to gag a little again. Your bad mood returns when you started to shiver, wondering what in the world happened to the humid air upon your kidnapping.

"Y-you don't have to say anything! Just relax for now. U-Undyne and I will take care of you until the cops get here. Phew, it's a good thing Undyne and I dropped by for a quick swim! We didn't even realize you were down there until Undyne challenged me to race all the way to the bottom!"

You nod, offering a small and awkward smile after you stopped gagging. You're still shivering like nobody's business though, eyes blinking every now and then to get used to the light more. Your eyes are just starting to accustom with the headlights when you feel something drop gently across your shoulders. Immediately, you clutch it with your fingers and draw it over your chest as well.

"Well, my name's Alphys. A-and the other girl is Undyne. S-she's my girlfriend!" Alphys chirps nervously, making an attempt at small talk quite possibly to help calm your nerves.

 _Cute,_ you decide, using your momentary blindness to pretend that they aren't monsters. You hate having to talk to a monster, but it's a little more bearable having your eyes closed so that you don't have to see them in the process of conversing with them.

You hear shifting in the water, and then a shout.

"NGAAAA! He's dead, but I brought him just like you asked!" Undyne's voice penetrates sharply through the silence around, louder than Alphys' voice. In fact, it kind of reminds you almost of Papyrus' loud voice, and you wince at the memory.

Something heavy and wet flops down beside you, prompting you to jump away and bump into Alphys gently in your slight panic.

"Hey, chill, girl! I don't bite!" Undyne's voice makes you sigh in relief, and you gesture to your eyes apologetically, hoping she catches on to what you're trying to say.

...

"Whut?" You hear her ask dumbly in confusion.

"...OH! Oh, I'm so sorry! T-the headlights must be too bright for her right now! I'll go turn them off," Alphys pipes up, shifting from behind you and wandering off to deal with the car.

As soon as she's away, you heard a subtle shifting towards you.

"So... Human," Undyne practically purrs, like she's excited or something. For a second, you almost begin to worry that she's hitting on you, until you hear her snicker a little. "I'm sorry... But... Your expression right now is HILARIOUS! Damn, you are _pale!_ How long were you down there anyways?!"

You open your mouth to speak and end up coughing a little, just before you finally rediscover how to use your voice box. You croak a little, but your words are coherent enough to get the message across.

"I don't remember... Blowing bubbles for a while... Felt like a dolphin," you manage to get out, only to send Undyne into hysterics again.

"Nice! Oh, light just went off. Should be easy for you to see now," Undyne claims, to which you hesitate to do only because you're afraid of what kind of monsters you'll see when you open them. "Come on, girlie! Show us your pretty eyes, eh? Can't keep them closed forever!"

You chew on your lip carefully... and then open your eyes.

You're immediately greeted with the sight of a grinning teal monster with thin aquatic scales, a long ponytail of red hair hanging from the back of her head along with a thick damp lock hanging over her left eye. Her only visible eye looks dangerous, with a long snake-like slit staring back at you enthusiastically. She's got strange fins sticking from either side of her head, equipped with small holes you assume are supposed to serve as ears, and she grins boldly at you with her sharp teeth when you sit there gaping at her in mild awe.

Her clothes are completely soaked due to swimming around and diving down to save you, which consists of a drenched red tank top to show her sculpted feminine- but no less deadly- muscles, and a pair of black cargo pants that tie just under her knee caps.

"There you go!" She praises you, right before giving you a smirk when she notices you eyeing her in interest. "Like what you see? So does Alphys."

Your face flushes madly at her insinuation, but you still manage to roll your eyes and look away in annoyance. If she thought you were staring because you found her attractive, then she's sadly mistaken.

...But you _guess_  she's sort of pretty. For a _monster_.

"Sassy pants," Undyne snorts, her words are harsh but her tone is clearly playful.

Alphys finishes walking back from their silver pickup truck, which is parked a ways away due to the large foliage and plants that's been swept into the way by another car (no doubt the driver who'd tried to kidnap you).

"Um... T-the cops sure seem to be taking their time, eh?" Alphys speaks up nervously, trying to spark up a new topic now that you're able to see her.

Alphys is, as you'd assumed earlier just by the texture of her claws and hands, a scaled type of monster resembling an orange-gold lizard. She's got a full sized figure, with glasses and a simple white button up over a black spaghetti strap and gray and black polygonal print shorts. Her feet are bare, probably due to the fact that her scales protect her sensitive feet from the small stones and other annoying pieces of nature.

"Really? What did you tell them?" Undyne asks with a hint of suspicion in her words, raising a brow at her girlfriend in curiosity.

"Er, well, I told them we had stumbled on a crash site where a truck had sunk down to the bottom of the lake... And the dispatcher told me they'd check on it as soon as they could," Alphys explains, causing Undyne to touch her chin in thought.

"...Did you mention we were monsters?" Undyne inquires next, blinking her visible yellow eye at Alphys observantly.

"O-oh, I might have mentioned it... Only so they would know where to look for us!" Alphys states, causing Undyne to sigh heavily.

"Alph. I don't think they're going to come," Undyne concludes despairingly, resulting in Alphys flinching in surprise at her girlfriend's words. Alphys glances at you and then back at Undyne, obviously not understanding the reason even though  _I_ understand it despite being a human.

"W-what? Why do you say that?" Alphys asks, tilting her head to the side in slight confusion.

"...We'll wait fifteen minutes. If they don't show up, we'll take... Uh, what's your name, girlie?" Undyne queries, looking at you with a sheepish grin.

When you tell her your name, Undyne grows a rather surprised expression. Her eyes scan your face to see if you're lying, and then she snorts with a huge grin.

"(Name)? _That's_ your name? HAH! You humans pick the _weirdest_ names on the planet!" Undyne cracks up boisterously, while Alphys watches us with a look of resignation as she murmurs quick apologies to me for her girlfriend's behavior.

By the time Undyne has caught her breath, she takes a seat right next to you- allowing you to finally notice a figure lying on the ground to her other side. You lean over to get a glimpse around her, but she puts a hand on your shoulder, webbed hands slick and moist like a fish's scales as she stops you from looking any further.

"It's best if you didn't. He's not in the greatest shape, girlie," Undyne informs you, pulling her hand back and removing her tank top with a single fluid motion. You watch as she turns to lay the shirt over the figure's upper half, leaving Undyne herself in a dark gray sports bra.

Another hand rests on your other side, directing you to Alphys, who sits down next to you with a nervous smile.

"S-so how are you feeling?" She inquires gently, removing her hand quickly like you'll bite her if she leaves it there for too long. "You look sort of... Hey, what's that?"

Alphys is originally giving you a once over but now focuses on something at your lower back, right at your waist where you could feel your top had ripped up from the lower hem in a small upside down 'V'. You don't move to show her more, prompting the monster to lean over and crawl closer until an audible gasp escapes her when she lifts up the back of the coat she's previously draped over you.

"U-Undyne!" Alphys squeaks in horror, her voice thick with alarm and panic. At her tone, Undyne swings her head around from the body on her other side to look at you and follow Alphys' gaze.

"Oh SHIT," the fish monster spews out in surprise, carefully lifting the coat up more and looking at whatever Alphys has noticed.

You're relatively confused by their reactions to seeing your lower side. Your back feels incredibly sore, but other than that you assume you're completely fine. Maybe they found a big bruise or something? Though, why do they sound so shocked at that? Don't they know how easily humans bruise?

 _...Didn't that man stab me?_ You slowly start remember, causing your body to stiffen at the thought.

Memories of blood flooding the van before the crash makes whatever blood you have left in your body drain. You hadn't drowned (though, you probably weren't down there for as long as you assume), yet here you sit- completely fine even though you'd been stabbed at _least_ three times.

Why aren't you dead yet?

 _This is ridiculous, neither of those things probably happened. If they did, you wouldn't be talking to these two monsters,_ you convince yourself with a frown, biting your lip again.

Ever so slowly though, you pull a hand back and reach behind to touch your skin for any large gashes. Your stomach knotts up anxiously upon pressing your fingers to your flesh, only to breathe a small sigh of relief when your fingers don't find large openings at your back.

You gradually relax more and more... until you touch something that doesn't feel quite right, protruding out from the area of the most sore sensations. You've been moving at a centimeter every press, and it isn't until then that you feel something plastic and hard sticking out of your back.

It's pretty much even _worse_ than finding a giant gash in your back. 

The knife that man had stabbed you with is _still stuck inside you._

You involuntarily whimper in mortification, recoiling from the hilt and looking towards Alphys and Undyne for support. Your panic pushes their race aside- you don't know how to handle what's going on. If the knife is still stuck inside of you, then that means all that stabbing from before  _really_ happened!

How the _hell_  are you still _alive_ after all that blood you lost?!

"I'm pretty sure that _that_ is bad for humans!" Undyne states nervously, lifting a hand and inching closer slowly- giving you a chance to stop her if necessary when she adds, "S-should we be pulling the bad thing out?"

 _"NO!"_ Alphys pretty much shouts, pushing Undyne's hand away rapidly and then apologizing profusely upon realizing how she'd reacted. "I-I mean... That knife is what's keeping her blood inside of her. If we remove it, s-she'll bleed out and die."

Undyne pretty much snaps her hands back against her chest, making a face of distraught panic as she stares at the knife lodged in your back.

You shiver, despite the coat reasonably warming you up. Alphys stands up and looks at Undyne frantically, appearing as if she's figured out how to handle the situation. 

Thank goodness, 'cause you're sort of still flipping out over not noticing the knife until they spotted it.

"W-we can't wait for the cops, we have to take her to a hospital right now!" Alphys declares, taking one of your arms and helping you on your feet with Undyne. "D-don't worry about the body, we can call again and have someone pick it up- our first priority is helping (Name)!"

You cling to Alphys with a pale face, allowing her to assist you into their truck's middle seat. Undyne slides into the driver's seat after you are settled sideways against the seat, in a position where the knife won't be forced in any further into you via road bumps and jostling from the car. Alphys takes shotgun, pulling your seat belt around you so you can click it in place.

"There, all set!" Alphys says sweetly, offering you a smile that you noticed is softer than before. She's clearly doing an effort to stay calm- only so you won't panic. Unfortunately, the sweat beading over her forehead and face gives her apprehension away. Regardless, you return a small smile due to her attempts to comfort you.

Internally, you're still freaking out. Are you going crazy? Why is this thing still stuck inside of you?!

"S-so, (Name)! You go to Ebott Creek Community College, right? Heh, I noticed the college emblem on your jacket... Undyne goes there too! I already have my credentials renewed up above, so I don't have to attend college. Undyne is studying fitness and health- for both monsters and humans. S-she wants to be a gym teacher!" Alphys starts to speak, another clear attempt to keep your mind off of the situation.

"There she goes again- spouting our life story to everyone we meet," Undyne chuckles, making you grin despite not really feeling up to it. "That's what I wanna see! A smile! You'll pull through this! You humans are pretty damn determined, after all. I have no doubt in my mind you'll survive that toothpick in your side!"

You glance down and blush despite shivering when your eyes land on her scales (which you already know have a nasty, slimy texture after being wet), hearing Alphys giggle on your other side brightly.

"D-don't embarrass her, Undyne," Alphys scolds, even though she is laughing a little. Somehow, it seems more like an anxious laugh- the kind people make when facing something they don't know how to react to.

After a while, it gets silent in the truck. You finger the knife at your side every so often, pushing on it in a few places along the hilt to see why it isn't actually hurting you the way you assume it should. It's incredibly amazing you'd woken up after the car fell into the water- twice as amazing that you found yourself floating outside of the car in the water and that you'd yet to pass out again.

 _Well, I guess we'll see the doctor's verdict when we get to the hospital,_ you think affirmatively, heart nearly on the brink of jumping out of your rib cage.

You secretly thank your lucky stars that you'll have another chance to try and fix the mess between you and Libby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, lucky you, you had a guardian angel watching over you! ;D Too bad they're all scaley and stuff though. :3
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	6. Prove It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're admitted to the hospital by Undyne and Alphys, two scaley monsters you want about as much to do with as you do with Papyrus. Will the overbearing Undyne be able to change your mind about them though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer one than usual! Grab your popcorn! :D

Chapter 6: Prove It

 

"C-come on, let's hurry," Alphys mutters, assisting you in getting off the tall truck's side with Undyne lowering you from behind.

"Are you _sure_ you don't feel anything, girlie? 'Cause shit, that looks painful!" Undyne remarks bluntly, following you off the truck and locking it up via remote while Alphys lead the way towards the hospital with one of your arms over her shoulder in case you topple over.

You don't feel faint, but you decide that you'll let her think she's helping you at least a little. She's a nice... _Monster._

Undyne is sort of rough around the edges, but she reminds you of a distant cousin twice removed. Which you evidently decide she's tolerable enough for you _not_ to have given her the bird after she notices the lacy underwear you've got peeking from your shorts upon your exit from the truck. Fish woman had laughed for a straight five minutes after she saw the logo and material, saying, _"WHO YA TRYIN' TA IMPRESS, GIRLIE?!"_

But really, screw _her._

"Fine..." You manage, still croaking like a frog with every word you try to utter.

When you walk through the doors towards the counters and waiting room near the ER, you're immediately brought towards the front desk where a petite woman in scrubs and short blonde hair sits, moving files and papers around her desk with brisk movements that nearly make you think she's not human.

"E-excuse me, we have an emergency!" Alphys speaks up first, making the blonde look up and lock gazes with Alphys.

"Huh? Oh? What is it?" The girl asks, the twitching of her left eye almost indiscernible. For a second, you think she's disgusted at the sight of the monsters on either side of you... Until you notice the four drained mugs on her desk. Too much coffee, anyone?

"We found her at a crash site off of the 401 highway, some lunatic tried kidnapping her and ended up driving into a lake. Thing is, she still has the knife stuck in," Undyne continues for Alphys, gently taking the coat from over your shoulders and removing it to reveal the knife to the nurse.

Now that Undyne is holding the coat away, you notice a large red patch about the size of a basketball forming at the back of the brown coat, making you look behind to see the red liquid soaking through your top. Just as you expected, you see a thick plastic hilt sticking out of your lower back and side. It's much larger than you previously assume, with about an inch of the blade still outside of the penetrating area.

"Oh, my... Hold on a second!" The nurse blurts out, dropping the files in her hand and hurrying along to most likely find a doctor to help.

"You're gonna be just fine, a-alright?" Alphys assures you once more, rubbing your arm with her scaled hands.

 _Am I though?_ You wonder, glancing down at your back.

When the nurse returns, she has a tall lanky man at her side. He wears a loose tie under his white lab coat, thin glasses perched along the bridge of his nose as he approached the three of you with a discerning eye.

He hums upon seeing you, taking your wrist and turning you slightly to get a better look at your wound.

To your alarm, he suddenly presses down on the hilt much too roughly for your liking, causing a sharp yelp to elicit from your mouth. Alphys yanks you to her side almost immediately, Undyne shooting the doctor a glare that would even have _you_ shrinking away.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?! You're going to make it cut her more!" Undyne objects out loud, dragging more attention towards your situation from the way the other people in the waiting area glance over at all of you from their seats.

"...It does not look like she's in much pain, other than when knife is pressed," the man comments, a deep Russian accent escaping his lips. "She can wait. We have more alarming patients to help."

He shoots Undyne a glare of his own, right before scowling at Alphys.

And that's when you realize what's _really_ going on.

 _He's not helping me because Alphys and Undyne are monsters. He thinks I'm a monster lover. He's literally shoving my dire situation aside just because I'm near two monsters. Knife wound patients are_ always _immediately admitted to the ER, there is no other reason why he would tell me to wait._

Your blood starts to boil when Alphys shrinks back and tries to lead you to the waiting room with her, prompting you to resist her pulls. She looks at you in confusion when you wordlessly pull your arm from her grip and stare the doctor dead in the eye. As if noting your glares, the doctor looks back at you and straightened up as if you're challenging him. He's probably ready for you to snap at him and defend your "monster friends". Waiting for you to give him a reason to hate monsters even more.

You're sure he doesn't expect what you rashly plan to _actually_ do. You yourself barely know what suddenly comes over you to instill such irrational behavior.

In a single fluid motion, you grab the hilt of the knife at your back and use every muscle in your arm to pull the blade clean out of your side in a single fluid motion, causing the doctor to curse in his native language when you toss the bloody blade at his feet carelessly. The metal end clatters loudly against the tile, streaking his shoes and the white floor with a few drops of splattered red liquid.

More blood follows, rushing down your leg and pooling against the contrasting white floor.

"I'm bleeding out. Will the doctor see me now?" You ask with a frown on your face, watching the blonde nurse pick up the knife and hurry to get it out of the way. The doctor has no choice now, and you can see it in his eyes.

The doctor looks incredibly pissed off, but moments later, the nurse returns with some other colleagues. Undyne and Alphys watch with their jaws gaping as they take you away on a stretcher, pressing wads of material against your side to keep the blood from running out any more. Almost a minute later, you're in the ER room with four nurses and the Russian doctor working to clean your wound.

Before they put you under, you meet the doctor's eyes one last time and hope to convey the proper message with your middle finger sticking up slightly.

You watch as the doctor puts his mask on and shoves your arm back down against the stretcher. Seconds after, something is pressed to your face and you're immediately lulled into a gentle darkness.

 

* * *

 

By the time you're able to open your eyes again, you have no idea how much time has passed. It doesn't seem like too long though, because the familiar blonde nurse from the front desk is grinning at you a few feet away, wearing the same scrubs as wore before you'd gone into the emergency room.

"Hey there! How are you feeling?" She asks kindly, moving across the small room where your bed is to get to the window.

As you adjust to the bright sunlight that spills into the room when she opens the curtains, you notice two figures in your room- two figures you recognize almost immediately. Your heart jumps a little at the sight, much to your alarm.

Undyne is sleeping on not-so-comfortable-looking chair, head completely lolled backwards and arms crossed over her chest in a position that looks less than suitable for anyone seeking a good night's rest. She isn't in the clothes from before, and all of her red hair is tied back in her ponytail to reveal an eye patch over her left eye that goes rather well with the black jeans and maroon leather jacket hoodie.

Alphys seems to have lucked out on her sleeping position (that or Undyne ordered her to take the comfier spot), taking the second bed in the room and curling up on her side with her back facing you. Her glasses have been placed on the small counter between your beds, and she now has on a light blue peploom tank with brown shorts.

You start to get out of bed, but the nurse stops you before you can.

"Oh no, no, no," the nurse chirps, pushing you back on your bed with a gentle hand. You're amazed at how strong she is for a moment- only to realize it isn't that she's strong, but that _you're_  just weak at the moment.

Moving your arm feels strange, and trying to get up had been even stranger. Every motion makes you feel twice as sluggish as before, and the harsh light really isn't helping you one bit. Everything feels heavy, but at least unlike back in the back of the kidnapper's Fiat, you weren't in danger of dozing off in a dangerous location.

"You have to stay in bed right now! You're recovering from one _hell_ of a complicated trip to the ER," The blonde explains with a bubbly grin, moving away to grab a trolley with a tray of soup, bread, and strawberries. "So the knife wound managed to avoid cutting through your large intestine by a hair's breadth, but there was a little trouble with stitching you up. You have a lot of blood for someone of your size... But we managed to get everything taken care of! Now you just need to recover some of your energy and you'll be home free."

She places the tray on your lap and then gestures to a button on the rails of the stretcher you're expected to sleep in. "By the way, if you need anything, just press this button and I'll come running."

You pop a strawberry into your mouth, watching with tired eyes as the blonde leaves the room. Your brain is begging you to get up and leave, but your body is just so worn out that you can't. You figure that if you go out and someone gently bumps into you, you'll end up crashing into the ground like a _Jenga_ tower.

_What day is it? Is it the next day already? Didn't I have something important to do? I feel like I'm forgetting something..._

That, you are.

Rather than ponder on it though, you finish the food you're given and roll back over to catch more sleep- until a sharp pain makes you abruptly sit up and grab at your side. Your dopey ass had accidentally rolled onto the wrong side...!

 _...I can't sleep,_ you decide in annoyance, shifting and getting out of bed carefully. You hold on to the bed rails, making sure not to press any buttons and using the support to keep you from becoming an overcooked noodle on the ground.

After two steps, you start to gain better control over your motor skills and manage to make your way to the bathroom. You figure that you must stink like nobody's business after everything you've been through, and decidedly lock the bathroom door behind you once you're inside.

You kneel by the shower and turn the valve to a lukewarm setting- the water not too hot and not too cold. After waiting for the water itself to run at the proper temperature, you stand up again and remove your clothing carefully (that being a simple hospital dress that goes down to your knees). You almost stumble and face plant in the process, but catch yourself on a handy rail inside.

Once you're seated in the handy seat of the shower, you shut the door and let out a deep breath.

 _Relax, everything is fine..._ You remind yourself, closing your eyes and enjoying the heat of the water against your skin.

The stitched cut on your side stings a little, but you ignore it as you continue cleaning yourself off. If anything, the gauze pad on top of the stitched wound seems to irritate it more than the water itself, so you evidently start to take it off.

Almost immediately, you realized your mistake when the water at the bottom of the shower begins to visibly turn pink, startling you for half a second. You quickly wrap the stitched wound back up and finish up your shower, feeling much better by the time you get out. In fact, you imagine the water must have done wonders, because your wound no longer hurts so much after the splash.

You pull your hospital dress back on afterwards and step back out of the bathroom, damp hair dripping little droplets of warm water against your back and shoulders.

"Miss Human?! Oh, thank  _goodness_ _!"_ A familiar voice (that isn't Undyne's screaming) shouts, just moments before two bony, yet oddly comfortable, arms wrap around you and lift you in the air amorously.

"Pap-?" You croak, unable to finish by the time the grinning skeleton in his red scarf and ridiculous outfit sets you back down on your feet gently. You meant to say his full name, but of course the skeleton misinterprets your words... As per usual.

"Oh...!  A n-nickname?!" He whirls around, looking back at the entrance to your room enthusiastically. "Sans, Sans! She gave me a  _nickname!"_

"Heh. It's cause you're so cool, bro," a deep and unfamiliar lazy voice comments, causing your body to suddenly lock up for some reason.

Your heart starts to thump a little faster in anticipation- only to be broken immediately when someone else suddenly races in past Papyrus with a frantic expression.

"Papyrus, did you say-?" Libby begins, cutting herself off when her eyes land on you. Her feet nearly tangle with each other before she charges straight for you, throwing her arms around you and nearly knocking you off your feet. "Oh my god, (Name)! What are you _doing_ here?!"

Confusion takes over your mind, making you look back over your shoulders at the now completely awakened scaled pair behind you.

"Wait, girlie _knows_ Papyrus and Sans? The heck?! This is weird!" Undyne comments, snorting in disbelief with a grin on her face. "Talk about coincidental!"

"W-we go way back with them!" Alphys adds, making your gut churn again at the name of the one person you have yet to meet.

_Sans._

You shouldn't feel this excited over someone you've never met, but your mind flies back to the short text messaging war you'd been in with him. In the back of your mind, you're a little upset that you lost that legacy between the two of you...

Now... You're going to meet the protective older skeleton brother in the flesh... Er, bone? I think?  _Eeehh?_

Butterflies fill your stomach when you hear footsteps heading in, and-

"Whoa! Um, _no._ This isn't permitted, peeps. I hate to bus you guys out, but too many visitors could stress the patient out. You can come inside in pairs of two, and that's it. Decide quickly, we're going to have to check on her wounds very soon," the voice of the nurse cuts in from the doorway, causing the footsteps to stop in their tracks.

Libby releases you instantly, hand pressing against your side where the stitches are. _"_ _Wounds?!"_ She shouts in horror, hand pressing much too hard for comfort and causing you to yelp and shove her hand away. "Oh... Um, c-can I have a moment alone with her, guys?"

She looks towards the four monsters in the room, making them all shuffle out with murmurs and nods of understanding, Undyne the only one doing so with a grumble of _'lame'_. Well, you can't see the one monster you've been so eager to meet yet, but at least Libby is willing to talk to you now.

 _Whatever. I wonder if Sans looks exactly like Papyrus? Can skeletons actually look different in the facial region?_ You wonder, watching them leave the room to wait outside.

Undyne pats your back gently, offering you a big smile as Alphys goes on ahead without her. "Told you that humans were determined," she chuckles in amusement, right before nodding to Libby and leaving the two of you in the room with the nurse.

...

"What in the world happened to you? You weren't home last night, you were gone the day before yesterday... I called your phone and left you a hundred messages! How did you end up _here?"_ Libby ask, after taking a moment to find the right question to ask you.

You swallowed thickly, grabbing your best friends hand and taking a deep breath, hoping your voice doesn't crack again like it did with Papyrus.

"...I was a fucking idiot," you decide to admit to her honestly, only to hear a bout of uproarious laughter from outside the room, undoubtedly coming out of Undyne.

You're starting to dislike her a little less. You still don't like her, but at least you don't dislike her as much as you did before. Then again... Why do you even care? You still don't like her, _period_.

"I didn't even know you were in here, (Name). Papyrus and Sans got a call from some friends that they were supposed to meet up with, and when they said they had taken a person to the hospital, I just tagged along to meet Pap and Sans' friends. I had _no idea_ that person at the hospital was _you,"_ Libby completely confesses, words falling from her mouth a mile a minute.

You nod in understanding, shrugging and taking a seat on the bed again when the nurse starts to lead you towards it. Your voice seems to be easier to manage, but you can hear how raspy it sounds in comparison to the lilt you used to have. You hope it isn't permanent.

"S-so what happened to you?" Libby presses, making the nurse turn to face her.

"Are you related to her in any way, miss?" The blonde nurse inquires, standing visually a foot or two shorter than your much taller best friend. Libby blinks at her and shakes her head.

"She's my roommate though. We grew up together, so we're practically family," Libby explains, making the nurse nod at her.

"Well, from what the two ladies from before- Undyne and Alphys- told me, they found her at the bottom of a lake off the 401 Highway," the nurse begins to relay, making Libby go pale with shock. Obviously that isn't what she expected to hear. "When she got here, the doctor was going to make her wait a while before offering her a room, but... Your friend here had a knife in her back, so she pulled it out to get the doctor to treat her sooner."

Libby's expression turns to a stone cold look when she faces you for a confirmation. You just look away with an innocent expression. "You _what?"_ She asks, her disapproval of your actions crystal clear in her tone.

The nurse sighs and turns to speak to you as well, offering an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry the doctor tried to turn you away at first, Miss," she apologizes, pushing for you to lay down and stare at the ceiling instead of the glare on your best friend's face. "The doctor is... For lack of a better word... Kind of an asshat."

You snicker, though the spark of glee her humor ignites doesn't quite reach your eyes. Yeah, he  _is_ an asshat. Next time you see him, you're planning on flipping him off again for being a jerk to you.

"Were you trying to kill yourself or something?" Libby demands authoritatively, as if she's your parent or something with her hands planted on her hips.

Rather than laugh again, you flick your eyes in her direction for a moment. "Psh! Of course not," you answer. "I'm pretty sure I'd be bleeding out _slowly_  if I'd waited like the doctor wanted me to."

Libby looks like she wants to argue with my reasoning, but before a word leaves her lips, she relaxes and turns away from you with a frown. "I'm off then," she says decidedly, turning away and marching right out of your room hastily. It's obvious she doesn't agree with your previous rash actions... So is that how things are going to be from now on then? She's gonna run off with the skeleton brothers and condemn me for every little thing she doesn't agree with?

You think it's her fault and her loss, but feel even worse than before as you watch her leave, the curtain opening and then sliding shut behind her. She's certainly a tough crowd to please... But she can't expect you to change your beliefs for her when you already know she would never do the same for you.

 _So much for patching things up,_ you think with a scowl towards the ceiling, laying back down with a sigh of aggravation. You're just _so_ good at messing things up, eh?

You hear Libby speaking outside, though it's hard to tell what she's saying. This is obviously meant to be kept from your ears, and to be honest, it stings you a  _lot._

"What? I want to see Miss Human next! Sans, come meet Miss Human! She's the sweetest timid creature you will ever meet!" You hear Papyrus brightly declare from outside.

Your heart jumps into your throat. Will you be meeting Sans now? Finally? Hopefully his appearance turns you off from finding him cool and makes you forget all your messages with him... You hate thinking about those messages. It really pisses you off that you kind of desire his friendship... The friendship of a  _monster_? _Please_. You'd rather be friends with the four walls of your house! Good conversations to be had with those walls, that's a definite.

"Nah, I'm good. You talk to her, Pap. You're the one she's friends with, _right_ 'Miss Human'?" Sans audibly speaks from the hall, his deep gravelly voice raised just right so you can hear his jab without him obviously screaming like Papyrus and Undyne.

You want to object and demand that Sans come in with Papyrus, but can't do that without it looking like you _like_ monsters. If you hate them, naturally, you wouldn’t care whether you saw him or not...

So why do you want to see him so badly?

Silence is your answer, and Papyrus comes in running moments after, stepping up to your bed and perching his red gloved hands on the rails of the bed without pressing the button to call the nurse (who is still standing by your bed watching everything with a smile as she cleans around your room).

"Hello, Miss Human," his voice is lower this time, at a much more normal volume, and the surprise at the new octave immediately relays on your face to match your shock. Papyrus laughs lightly at your expression, "Nyeh heh heh! Listen up, I believe we unfortunately missed the day of our magnificent date two days ago- "

Before you can stop the expression from forming on your face, guilt visibly takes over your still uncoordinated facial muscles. You manage to grab a hold of your usual poker face after a second, but the damage is unfortunately already done and Papyrus speaks up to mention it.

"Oh, Miss Human, do not fret! I, the Great Papyrus, have not given up on you just yet!" He claims, lifting a hand and stroking the side of your face gently with it. You try not to look so weirded out by his actions. "I believe that we can have our date on another occasion!”

He hands you a small green paper, and on it is that chicken scratch writing of his, with the last number still hard to determine as a five or a six.

“My number, in case you lost the other one. Oh, and by the way…” His expression surprisingly goes serious. "Please stay safe."

You nearly drop the paper when he suddenly leans down and presses his teeth gently to your forehead, a spark of something not quite human tickles your skin much to your surprise. It isn’t uncomfortable at all, but you don't really like it either. In the end, you decide you'll tolerate it due to his honest apology.

...And also because his brother is outside the room, probably ready to rip your guts out if you so much as breath the wrong way at Papyrus.

When he moves back, he's giving you that bright annoying grin of his again. Why is he so... _Annoying?_  “Well, see you soon for our date sequel, Miss Human! Nyeh heh heh!”

And out of the room he races before you can say anything or make a sound, though you still completely hear him when he talks to his brother outside.

“Sans! I do insist you meet her! She is almost as great as I am, second to me!” Papyrus compliments, causing your already red cheeks to heat up even more to your fury. The nurse beside your bed giggles cutely. You pointedly turn your head away to hide your state.

“Maybe some other time, Pap… I think my legs stopped working,” Sans replies, causing you to glare back at the curtain as you work on diminishing your blush.

Sans sounds like a lazy turd monkey...

“You lazybones, your legs are fine! Get in there!”

…

“SANS! DON'T TAKE YOUR LEGS OFF!” You hear Papyrus blurt out next, just before the curtains open up again.

Your insides coil up in raw hope- before you find yourself staring at Undyne and Alphys instead. They give you big smiles, walking up to their previous locations and getting comfy again.

"Well, well, well... What a surprise! Who'd have thought a quiet thing like you was trying to get in the pants of our sweet, innocent Paps!" Undyne is quick to heckle, laughing to herself when you shoot her a sharp glare. "Hey, it's alright! I'm not plotting to steal your monster man from you or anything!"

You grab the pillow from behind you and launch it at her, rejoicing when she falls back into her chair with a grunt of amusement. Her smirk persists.

"What, did I say something wrong?" She asks innocently, blinking her yellow eyes at you as if she's some kind of angel.

 _Stupid monster,_ you think to yourself bitterly, chewing on your tongue lightly.

"U-um, I'm sure Papyrus and Sans have already left... How are you feeling, (Name)?" Alphys asks, sitting on the edge of the bed next to yours and gently fiddling her fingers together nervously.

You shrug and look at the blonde nurse beside you, who's pulling on some latex gloves.

"Alright, let's see that wound of yours. We might have to change your bandages as well. From what I remember, you were still leaking quite a bit after we stitched you up," the nurse informs you, pulling your dress up a little and having you hold the bunch of it over your chest while she gets to unwrapping the bandages.

You can't bring yourself to really look at Alphys or Undyne when you get ready to answer their queries, eyes flickering down to the tiled surface of the floor.

"...You two don't need to stay here and watch me or anything. I couldn't answer Alphys earlier when she asked me if I was okay with monsters," you speak up, before finally gathering your guts and shoving your timid, wimpy side away to look Alphys and Undyne respectively in their eyes.

Both girls seem to freeze when you bring the subject up, eyes staring back at you as they await your answer. You can see that neither of them are joking around anymore either.

"...Because I _don't_ like monsters. I hate them. I think your kind should have stayed under the mountain," you respond, noting the fleeting flash of hurt in Alphys' eyes and the slight shift of anger in Undyne's yellow slitted irises. It's Alphys' look, and not Undyne's, that has you turning away once more though. The emotion in her eyes is offsetting- you believe that _that_ kind of emotion should only be feasible in humans. "You can go home and leave me alone."

You catch the blonde nurse pouting at you from the corner of your eye, but she does a magnificent job in only allowing you to get a glimpse of it. By the looks of it, it's now clear that she is, in fact, a monster lover.

Silence permeates the room, thick and heavy like slime. For a second, you wonder if they've excused themselves from the room yet, since you're staring at the work the nurse is doing on your lower back and side.

The nurse doesn't argue or try to convince you that monsters aren't bad. She doesn't try to tell you to give them a chance. She just silently stays out of the conversation to focus on your injury- which you're immensely grateful for. You're, in all honesty, glad that someone on the other side of the fence of the monster issue isn't trying to force their beliefs or opinions on you, like Libby has been trying to do since the day appeared.

...

"Heh... Heh heh heh..."

You look up in surprise, glancing towards Undyne when Alphys curiously peeks over at her girlfriend as well. Undyne is staring at you, expression twisted up and teeth sunk gently into her rising lower lip as she... Well, you aren't quite sure _what_ she's trying to do. Have you maybe broken the tough monster with your words or something? Alan claims that humans are stronger than monsters because our bodies are far more stable than monster bodies predominantly made of magic... But this is just ridiculous.

Near the point of asking her to leave before she freaks you out anymore, Undyne bursts out laughing. It's pretty much an uproar, and the nurse begins to panic slightly at the volume of the monster's guffaw.

"M-Miss, I really hate to stop your moment, but this _is_ a hospital! Please lower your voice before you wake up the other patients!" The nurse scolds Undyne firmly, who takes respectable note of it and starts to calm herself down with an apology.

I glanced over at Alphys for some kind of answer. Can monsters get mentally ill?

When the gold monster shrugs with the same confusion written across her face, you meet Undyne's gaze and find her grinning savagely at you.

"No. Just... No. You're a _liar._ A particularly bad one at that. I can see right through you, girlie. I can't believe you think you actually hate monsters," Undyne snickers, crossing her arms casually.

You frown and open your mouth to object, only for Undyne to raise a hand and wave you off.

"Save it, I know what you're going to say." Undyne stands up and pulls on a sappy smile, speaking in a fake, girly tone probably meant to mock you. "'I _tooootally_ hate monsters! I spit at them, I curse them in my head, and I write rage diary entries about them! You can't tell me how I feel! _Eeeek!'"_

You want to throw something far heavier than a pillow at her this time. When her expression turns stone cold though, you quickly discard your last thought.

"(Name). Alphys and I have been above ground for nearly five months already," the teal fish monster continues, walking up to your bed where the nurse has paused her ministrations to pay attention to the conversation between you and the fish monster.

Undyne plants her webbed hands on rails of the bottom of the hospital bed, leaning towards you and giving you a much sharper glare than before.

"Alphys and I have _seen_ true human hatred. We've had rocks thrown at us. We've been ganged up on. We've seen our kind _killed,_ while we watched helpless." The monster straightens up, calming her glare into a careless leer. "You don't hate us. Maybe you _dislike_ monsters, but you don't hate them."

You try to interject again, but Undyne clearly isn't having it. She seems to have a spark of glee in her single visible right eye as she put words into your mouth.

"I know, you're about to tell me all the things you think about monsters. That I should stick my rant where the sun don't shine. Stuff like that right? Because you, quote unquote, _'hate monsters'._ Well, if you hate us so much... Why haven't you ripped up that phone number Papyrus gave you that's still in your hand? Or better yet, why didn't you snap at him and tell him you'd rather date a dead opossum on the side of a road than date him? Why didn't you tell Alphys and I to fuck off when she mentioned us being monsters? And don't tell me it's 'cause you wanted to take advantage of our ride to the hospital, because I've met many humans stranded in highways that would rather spit on me than take advantage of a free lift."

You watch as she grabs the chair behind her, linking her foot around a chair leg and dragging it closer until she has it at your bedside, on the opposite side of where your nurse stands. Undyne is smirking again, resting her elbows on the mattress and looking up at you from where she sits.

"Please, by all means, tell me why you didn't do those things. I've got all the time in the world! I can meet up with Sans and Pap at any hour I feel like it," Undyne states cheerfully, staring at you when you silently shoot her a glare.

You have no answer to give her though. Although you want to prove a point by spitting on her face right now... You find that you can't bring yourself to do it for some reason. Do you just not want to because you pity her? No, if you pity her... That will mean that you feel _sorry_ for them. If you truly hated monsters, you wouldn't really care about that. You'd be able to grab a syringe and scissors from the nurse beside you and stick it in Undyne's eye to match her right one.

Your only reaction is to look away from the piercing gaze of the monster, turning slightly red in embarrassment at the fact that you can't even answer her.

Why _haven't_ you ripped up Papyrus number yet? Because you feel bad. You _do_  want to call him and see how that stupid date will turn out, although you want to desperately deny it.

Why don't you have the heart to tell him you don't want to date him? He was so happy at the prospect, practically glowing at the fact that you weren't missing. _You._ A cold, selfish, endlessly whining girl who's never blamed herself but spent life blaming everyone around her for her own problems. A girl who was so cold to him during the first conversation, yet he still saw the light inside you where you saw darkness and solitude.

Why didn't you act out against Alphys when your voice wasn't working back at the lake? You could have shoved Alphys aside to make a point; slapped her; grabbed one of the rocks at your knees and hit her with it. But you didn't. Because you feel as if she's somewhat like you. You sense a resemblance coming off of her, and dare you say it, it makes you feel comfortable.

...Why can't you spit on Undyne's face right now?

Your expression must have fallen, because the nurse has lightly touched your shoulder. You glance up at her to find a calm smile on her face. She nods towards Undyne, prompting you to return your gaze to the monster.

Undyne isn't smirking anymore, but wearing an upbeat grin.

"I'm right, aren't I?" She asks, flashing her teeth in a friendly manner.

Well, she isn't _wrong..._

"I'm not really asking for a chance here..." She continues, shutting her eye and fixing her ponytail a little. When she opens her eye again, it's almost a full blast of excitement, nearly causing you to bolt out of your bed and towards Alphys in fear. "I don't _want_ to ask you for a chance. I'm going to **make you give us a chance!"**

Undyne stands up on her chair and then, no joke, _legit_ flips clean over your bed and your nurse to land on the bed where Alphys sits at. Alphys looks like she's panicking as well, but she doesn't flinch away like you think she will when Undyne lands on the center of the bed and turns back, pointing a finger right at you.

"BY THE TIME I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU WILL THINK OF NOBODY ELSE BUT ME, PUNK! I may have failed once, but I've had _loads_ of time to practice! I'm certain you'll be the human! Yes, that's right, **WE ARE GOING TO BE _BESTIES,_ WHETHER YOU FUCKIN' LIKE IT OR NOT! _NGAAAAAAA!"_**

Before you even process it, Undyne has lifted Alphys off her spot and is carrying her over her shoulder as if Alphys weighs no more than a feather. Alphys gives you a nervous smile, waving at you with much difficulty.

"I-I guess I'll see you later, (Name)," the gold monster stammers awkwardly, just as Undyne cackles darkly to herself at her girlfriend's words and whatever insane bullshit she's already trying to cook up in her fishy-wishy-washy brain. Sheesh, that fish lady is out of control!

"Oh, she _will_ see us later. We're your ride back to your home, after all. LATER, LOSER!"

Undyne is out the door before you can reply, leaving you alone with the equally stunned nurse beside you.

...

"W-well... They're certainly something," she states, making you shake your head and roll your eyes. "I'm sure it can't be _that_ bad to spend time with them."

...

"I was wondering when you'd try to convince me to give them a chance," you reply blandly, still unsure about your next actions. Considering you are, as proven, _so bad_ at hating monsters...

Should you really give Undyne and Alphys that chance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Links:  
> [Bone Appetit Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	7. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your attempts to leave the hospital and run away from your problems (Undyne, Alphys, and all other monsters in general) are but an illusion. Instead, you only dig yourself deeper into the life of monsters when Undyne decides to reveal some tidbits of her time underground.

Ch. 7: Nightmares

 

You’re kind of crazy, but that's as much as you're willing to admit to yourself and other people even though you generally try to keep that side of you contained as best as you can. It's not the "random adorable" kind of crazy either- more like the reckless kind that usually gets you (and sometimes other people) into trouble.

Libby was kind enough to send up some clothes to your hospital room the day after everyone visited you. Other than that though, you haven’t seen her since. In fact, you've actually seen more of Alphys and Undyne, monsters that you've _already_ offended, than the girl you more or less grew up with. You wish you could do something to fix the mess between the two of you... Something that doesn't involve opening up to anyone... or worst of all  _monsters_ , of all creatures.

But you don't have a means of reaching that goal.

As for the particular skeletal monster you were previously wondering about, Sans is practically non-existent; you still don’t know what he looks like. All you have to go on is his deep, lazy voice from the other day. However, seeing as your chances of meeting him are slimmer than a strand of spider silk, and the fact that you'd really rather _not_ meet any more monsters, he isn’t much of your concern anymore. You've thankfully lost your interest in his appearance after he left with Papyrus and Libby... You don't blame him for not wanting to see you either- he must want nothing to do with a snobby little snipe like you... Sort of like how you want nothing to do with _his_ kind.

Anyways, since Libby sent up some clothes and you still have mixed feelings on what Undyne previously said to you (regarding her plan to change your mind about monsters), you take your chances with the early night and dress into your fresh crisp clothes after a quick shower. Taking action after Undyne and Alphys went home that day, you made the decision to head on home yourself... It's a dumb move, yes, especially since walking around late is what got you in the hospital in the first place, but what other choice do you have?

Or rather, what other _likable_  choice is there for you to go with...

You'd rather walk out alone again than listen to Undyne poke fun at your attitude like she oh-so- _loves_  to do. Besides, it's not like such terrible luck will strike you again twice in a row. All you need to do is be careful and keep an eye out on your surroundings... If you're nervous, just have a pen at the ready or something in case you need to stab a bastard. See? No problem whatsoever. Definitely the better choice in the matter...

You step out into the hallway carefully, ready to sneak past the nurses you're sure will be working (at least two or three) around the front counter on your floor. As you glance over towards the initial direction where you expect them all to be though... 

There is nobody there.

In fact, there doesn't seem to be _anyone_ in the hallway at all. All the room doors where other patients are sleeping in are closed shut, save for your room door as the only exception. Silence permeates the corridors, so quiet that you could probably hear the sound of a pin dropping from the other end of the hall.

You aren't acquainted with the regulations of hospitals whatsoever, as you've never visited one for yourself or anyone else, so you're a little worried you may get in trouble if you leave without the hospital actually releasing you... However, you're blinded by a fogged mindset so you decide that it doesn't matter to you in the end. 

The only thing that really bothers you is the way you're trying to escape the fish woman and her lizard girlfriend. It's almost like Undyne's simple words are _actually_ starting to get to you.

Now, that just won't do.

Looking down either end of the empty hall (odd, considering it's only around 10:00 pm), you decide this is as good of an opportunity as any.

Your black flats tap gently against the ugly tile flooring of the hospital as you make your escape. The potent scent of rubbing alcohol and medicine overloads your nose; You're so glad you don't have to stay one more second in here.

As you job, the dull silence of the environment unnerves you down to the bone, making you shiver at every tap your shoes make. Where in the world _i_ _s_ everyone?

…

 **_“_ ** **_P--T-N RE-DI--S -EG-TI-E._ ** **_”_ **

You jump at the sound of a stranger's voice, filling your ears with an eerie static that makes you stop and look around quickly. The voice sounds oddly familiar… But you can’t place it for some reason.

“H-hello?” You gather the guts to call out, even if you might attract the attention of a nurse. At this point though, the company would probably actually make you feel better instead of being in this solitude. In fact, maybe they can help you figure out if you can be officially released, or whatever it is that they do to mark down a patient no longer in their care. “Is somebody there?”

 **_“_   _H--LO_** **_.”_ **

You can’t understand the voice. It’s like it’s speaking in a completely different language… Maybe? Now that you think about it, it doesn’t really sound like a language… It’s sort of similar to the white noise a radio or TV makes when it doesn’t have signal- only... Wordier, so to speak.

You can’t determine where it’s coming from, and after a minute of walking slowly to see if you can find its origin, you manage to convince yourself it’s probably nothing important… Someone must have left a TV on.

After calming yourself with that convincing thought, you press on towards the elevator to get down to the first floor.

There’s a tension around you as you stab the elevator button more times than necessary, jumping into the small room and then moving to press the first floor button. A chill is travelling up your spine, making the hairs on the back of your neck prickle.

The elevator take time to close and you lean back against the wall waiting…

... Waiting…

...

... Still waiting…

…

The elevator doors are not closing. Why aren't they closing yet?

You lean forward and peek outside into the hall again, spotting something along the corridor that you're only able to catch a mere glimpse of before it turns to slip into the room you'd previously been occupying during your recovery.

A sense of dread coats your heart when you see this, and rightfully so, you retreat into the elevator and press your back against a corner, attempting to make yourself as small as possible. The presence makes you want to disappear, it feels... bad.

To make matters worse, the elevator doors still aren't closing.

Panic starts to grow in your gut, but on that note, why are you panicking _now_ _?_  You weren't as scared as this when you'd been kidnapped. What's different between the previous situation and what's happening now? Besides, if anything, this could just be you overreacting due to the guilt of leaving the hospital without telling anyone. There's probably no danger outside of the elevator at all!

Regardless of the flurry of reasonable thoughts in your head, you stab the button to close the elevator doors forcefully, attempting to will the doors to shut and create a barrier between whatever you imagine is out wandering the hall and yourself. No matter how many times you press the button, no matter _what_ button you press- including the red emergency button- the doors  _refuse to close._

You can't go anywhere with the elevator. You're going to have to make a run towards the stairwell. There might not be anything out there, but the feeling of dread that is crawling up your spine like a scuttling insect... It insists that you're better safe than sorry.

With a heartbeat pounding at the speed of the roadrunner on steroids, you scramble to the elevator entrance and peek out nervously.

No one is out there. Now is your chance!

You dash out of the elevator and race to the end of the hall, not daring to look back. You're absolutely positive that you don't want to see if it's following you- lest you slow down or brand the image of whoever is behind you in your mind as nightmare fuel.

Thankfully, as you descend the stairs further, the sensation of fear and/or being watched begins to drift away. Whoever you'd encountered was left up on the ninth floor- friend, foe, or imagination- it doesn't matter to you. So long as you're out of that hospital, nothing else is of any importance...

You're out of the hospital building soon enough, and you grin as you walk out into the warm streets to head on home. Home sounds nice... Even though it's a relatively sweat-inducing night, you're craving hot chocolate with marshmallows and-

**_"_ _Y-U SH--LD N-T--E HE-DI-G TH-T -AY."_ **

Your feet stop dead and you swing around in all directions. There... There's that strange vocal-like sound again... And if it's out there, on the streets, that means it isn't what you thought it was before. Not unless someone has hooked up a TV out here in public, and that's just ridiculous.

The feeling of being watched increases once more, though rather than call out to see who is trying to speak to you like you'd done in the hospital, your initial instinct is to start running. Which you don't hesitate to do as you throw yourself into the array of alleys that usually serve as shortcuts for you to get around the area. Of course, only _you_ are stupid enough to use them to your vantage again.

Libby personally _hates_  your method of returning home, if more so than your use of your car. Despite reason, you're still going to use the alleys as a way to get back home from class once your daily schedule returns back to normal- probably not the deeper alleys like in the area you'd been snatched at before- but at least the ones closer towards the streets where someone can hear you if anything so happens to occur again.

**_"_ _PL-A--, -OU WI-- --T LI-E -HA-YO- --E..."_ **

**_"_ _I-S BE-T-I- Y-U N--ER FI-D --T, _____ _."_ **

The noise is really getting to you, churning your stomach in ways it isn't meant to be churned. In your mind, you wish your house was closer than it actually is- All you want to do now was get inside and slam the door on whatever is following you. It isn't human, that's for certain. So... That means it _has_ to be a monster. Nothing human could produce sounds like that- and if someone _can_ , then they must be pretty talented.

You yelp and nearly stumble over when something pulls on a lock of your hair from behind. It's not painful, but it startles you into running faster and making a couple more turns through the network of alleys.

**_"_  -- _E-SE STO-. --U C---OT G- BA-- IF YO- S-E WH-- I- AHE-D."_ **

"Just, _shut up!_ Leave me alone!" You snap, unable to understand whatever it's trying to tell you. "Go away!"

Your speedy trekking though the alleys comes to a stop when you reach a dead end. There's no telling if it's behind you ready to attack, but you turn around to face your only exit with your fists raised. You're not about to let yourself go down without a fight this time. You don't care what Undyne, Libby or anyone else think of your dislike for monsters. If you have to so much as kill one to protect yourself, you're going to do it!

...Hopefully.

If you even have the _guts_ to commit murder on any living creature.

...

...You don't.

And that's what terrifies you the most.

Instead of something coming from the only entrance to the dead end, a noise behind you startles you into turning around with a gasp. Your body is shaking, limbs stiff... Until you realize what you're staring at.

Oh, it's a monster, alright. An adorable little green frog monster with two separate faces on its head and belly as it hops around a couple garbage cans in search of something. When it looks up at you and offers you a sweet smile, you make a face of relief and sigh. Your body relaxes now that you have some company, and even though it's a monster, you're glad that you're no longer alone. Especially since the hospital had seemed far too empty to be normal.

The frog's smile twitches abnormally all of a sudden, along with its head.

Immediately, your body locks up once more when the strange sensation of dread returns full force. You hadn't noticed before, but now that you're staring at the frog monster intently for any sign of danger, it's far more noticeable.

Your eyes register the barely visible dark shadow standing behind the frog monster. Initially, your first urge is to tell the monster about the creature lurking behind it as soon as possible. However, you never get the chance for even the first syllable to leave your lips.

The frog lets out a high pitched whimper as a tendril of darkness from the figure behind it thrust straight through it, protruding right through the face on the frog's tummy. You step back, horrified at what you're seeing.

Can monsters actually _kill_ each other?! You were under the impression that they all got along since they're made out of those sugary-goodness elements Alan told you of- sugar, spice, and everything nice or some shit like that. Never had it occurred to you that they may _actually_ slaughter one another like... Like _humans_.

Something about the display doesn't sit right with you. It feels extremely wrong- like taboo. Disgustingly enough, you've never found humans murdering one another as 'shocking' news. It's so regular in human society (albeit immoral beyond belief) that you tend to find yourself numb to breaking news involving missing persons and/or murder. This feels  _wrong_ though- on a level even further than humans killing other humans. This _can't_  be normal monster behavior... But then again, what do  _you_ know about monster behavior? You don't even like monsters, so why would you hold any knowledge on them other than what Alan and Libby have mentioned as passing comments?

Returning to the situation at hand, you watch horrified as the frog quivers with the tendril sticking from its abdomen. Dust is beginning to collect in the area around the frog's belly, and you feel your heart swell with sympathy. It looks like it's in pain...

What can you do though? Yes, Alan said humans are stronger than monsters... But there's a nagging feeling that the creature behind the frog _i_ _sn't_ a monster. Is there anything else other than monsters and humans though? It's a ridiculous notion, but is it maybe... Something _else?_

Whatever it is... It's _unnatural_.

You step back, in hopes of making a getaway while it busies itself with the dying frog monster. You feel disgusted by your actions, even though it's just a monster, but you stand about as much of a chance against the shadowy creature as that poor frog monster. You can either run away like a coward... Or end up just like that little monster.

Honestly, you'd much rather run away like a coward and live to see another day.

The frog monster stops quivering.

Wanting to escape more than satisfy your curiosity, you turn to run away. To your dismay, there stands that dark creature that you'd seen the other way no less than nanoseconds prior to turning around, obstructing your path purposefully to stop you from advancing. After seeing what it had done to the frog monster, you jerk backwards and bite your lip in frustration.

Now what do you do? You're no wall climbing champion by any means- you can't even do _monkey bars._

Your stomach drops as realization hits you like a truck.

It's _really_ over this time. You can't dodge death twice in a row, that's impossible. You aren't lucky, and you don't expect another miracle like Undyne and Alphys to come running to your aid.

A croak from behind you has you spinning around again to see the frog monster still standing behind you. It's a small size, the size of maybe a small child aged five years, but the hole in its belly with crusted dust around the gap is extremely unnerving, large enough that you can see right through it to the other side.

Libby had mentioned that monsters turned into dust when they died... This frog monster is obviously on the verge of death- so how in the world is it able to stand there and stare at you with that manic grin on its face?

The feeling of needing to vomit begins to build up when it hops closer deliberately. You take another step back, glancing behind to see if the other creature is still behind you.

Big mistake.

As soon as you do so, a startlingly hostile growl rips out of the frog in front of you loudly, and you're just turning back in alarm when it launches itself at your face, sharp jaws that were not present before unlatched wide like a snake to snap around your entire head.

 

* * *

 

As soon as your eyes snap open, you bolt up in a sitting position with a sharp inhale, breathlessly gasping for air in panic. For a few minutes, you dry heave as you accustom to your familiar surroundings. The hospital? Yes, the hospital…

You’re alright. You’re safe…

It was just a nightmare.

“Hey, _nerd!_ So you’re finally awake, eh? Sheesh, you look like you jumped in somebody's swimming pool… Lay off the hot chocolate before bed, yeah?”

You weakly turn your head towards the entrance, where you see Undyne casually picking at her sharp basilisk-like teeth with a glowing cyan spear, strolling in and licking her chops as soon as she's finished cleaning her teeth.

“Also, I don’t recommend eating any of the steak they serve here. Shit’s nasty,” she adds, taking a seat by your bed like you two are old friends or something.

For a long tense minute, you blankly stare at her with wide eyes like a pop-eyed goldfish. The air smells different now, as if someone dropped gasoline around there and left it to pollute the room's atmosphere. As if realizing you're still sort of panicking, Undyne reaches down to a small backpack purse on the floor and extracts a bottle of water from within the depths. She brings it up to your line of sight and visibly opens it, prolonging the crack of the seal so that you know it's brand new and unopened.

Grateful, you mutter a reluctant _'thank you'_ , despite not wanting to be in her debt for any reason- even for a measly bottle of water. You owe her _enough_ after fishing you out of a lake, taking you straight to the hospital, and keeping you company when even your best friend refuses to visit. Of course, you don't blame Libby. You're such a jerk.

Does that make you regret your actions though?

...Nope.

"Hehehe, _you're welcome,"_ Undyne chuckles in reply, grinning in this smug way that has you raising an eyebrow at her when you look up from drinking water. Why is she stressing her words so much? At your questioning expression, Undyne flashes her teeth more, enough that you _know_ she's secretly laughing at you. "That's the first gratuitous thing I've heard you utter, _girlie_."

You bite your lip when you think back to everything that's happened since you met Alphys and Undyne, only to realize... She's right. There is no instance you can ever recall saying "thanks" to them for everything they've done for you.

... _Good._

Maybe she'll leave you alone and never visit again if you amp up your "jerkface" attitude.

You stare her straight in the eye and lift the bottle to your lips, purposefully keeping eye contact to let her know she's not getting anything else out of you. Your "thanks" was a little slip- and it _won't_ happen again. Undyne will eventually get tired of your shit soon enough- people _always_ do.

And then... She'll be out of your hair.

Better for her, even better for you.

All you need is to amend things with Libby and continue your usual life with getting that degree of yours. You don't need anything else in life. Sure, there are things you _want_ , but... Those aren't realistic desires, let alone desires within reach.

Instead of glaring at you or cussing you out like you imagine she might do due to your snobby sass regarding the fact that she _saved your life,_ it seems like you've only managed to pique her amusement.

Undyne snorts with laughter, and her grin, which looks like it can't get any bigger, doesn't waver even a bit. "Ah, I can't wait until we're better friends. You're sassier than me, and _that's_ saying something. I've honestly never met a human as gutsy as you."

Undyne gets in closer, making you lean back when she places her face inches away from yours with a sly glint of mischief in her right eye. She's trying to intimidate you, albeit, playfully. Despite her playfulness though, you feel intimidated anyways and reach up to wipe the sweat off of your forehead from your nightmare to keep her from noticing your reaction.

"You know... In the Underground, I used to be a part of the Royal Guard for King Asgore. I was in charge of soldiers that hunted down _humans._ Do you even _know_ what I'm capable of?" Undyne snickers darkly. Her words strike a sensitive nerve, and you can't help but shrink back against the pillow of the bed reflexively.

She's telling you about herself. Somehow, you wish you could know  _less_ about her, if that's even possible considering this is pretty much the first thing you're hearing about the fish monster.

"...Well, I don't know either!" She suddenly snickers, leaning back to laugh and wipe something out of the corner of her only visible eye. "I've only ever met _one_ human as captain of the Royal Guard, and I failed to catch them." Undyne smiles sheepishly, though it's clear she doesn't really care about her so called "failure". "They were so puny and marshmallow-y... I didn't stand a chance. Tenacious little creature. I tried to stick a spear in them more times than I can count, and they never _once_ tried to retaliate. The human just kept trying to befriend me, despite that I was out to skin them alive and steal them of their soul."

Your eyes are somewhat wide, and you correct your reaction as soon as you realize what you're doing. At first, you're not sure why she's telling you about something like that, but when you hear about the kid relentlessly attempting to be her friend- not giving up on her despite everything she did to deter them- you make the connection.

...Undyne believes that if that human could break through _her_ stubborn exterior (she doesn't have to say it, it's obvious they became friends in the end. That smile on her face says it all), then she herself can break through _yours._

You look down at your lap and frown in confusion. She could befriend _any other_ human out in the world- there are plenty of people that like monsters and accept them. What the hell is so special about you that makes her want you as a friend?

"...I couldn't kill them..." Undyne suddenly trails off, making you look up at her again when you hear the sudden change in her voice- which is now stiff with unease. She is still smiling, but now it seems more forced than before. The monster laughs nervously, lifting a hand to push the long bang of red hair out of her face as she stares at the ground. "...You know what's the scary part though?"

You find yourself shaking your head on impulse, completely absorbed into her story that you don't even correct your display of interest this time. Either way, she isn't even looking at you, so it doesn't matter.

"...That human moved so fluently every time I tried to attack them. It was almost unnatural. Like they expected every attack I was going to make. It was... _Odd,"_ Undyne states, eye flicking back towards you. "It was only a _child_. It scares me to think that a small kid like that... Probably could have ended my life easily if they felt like it."

Undyne's only visible eye holds a haunted look, one that chills you down to the smallest quark of your being.

...

"HAH! Don't look so grim, _girlie!"_ Undyne suddenly breaks into a wide grin, back to her normal self when she punches your left shoulder a little harder than you'd like her to. "I'm alive on the surface, aren't I? And I've got the midget human as a friend as well! Everything turned out well for me in the end."

Her right eye flashes with excitement, grin breaking even wider.

"You're my next victim, (Name)! We're going to have so. Much. _Fun together~!"_

A little unnerved after such personal moment you two shared, you take a sip from the water bottle again, trying not to look as startled as you probably did minutes before Undyne snapped out of her storytelling.

Silence falls over the pair of you, as you're unsure of what to say to her revelation- as well as unsure whether you _want_ to say anything regarding her revelations.

...

"So, do you like anime?" Undyne blurts out cheerfully.

In conclusion, yes. Undyne's grin could, in fact, get bigger than you previously believed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a break to figure out where the story was going to go. I figured it out. New summary for Bone Appetite, though nothing is carved in stone. It may change, or it may not. At least nothing to drastic now that I have an idea of what this story will be about. If you're still interested after reading the new summary... Thanks! If not... That's okay too! There's a lot of good stories on Archive- especially Sans x Reader stories (Though I'm sure you all already know that XD). We're all so thirsty for the pun master heehee.
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	8. Freedom! ...Or Not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne and Alphys pick you up from the hospital to continue ruining your life with Papyrus- Which results in a call with Sans that once again leaves you shaking in your boots with annoyance.

Ch. 8: Freedom! ...Or Not.

 

Your time at the hospital has finally come to an end- or to be more precise- following a few more blood tests (with vague answers on whether everything is alright or not) and a checkup on your stitched stab wound, your horrible doctor finally decides to decree you healthy enough to be released back into your "natural habitat". Or at least that's how Undyne puts it when she arrives with Alphys to pick you up. Originally, you were planning to run away before they got there to ruin your day, but alas, much to your dismay, they're  _early._

And you're  _fucked._

 _Damn it,_ you think as you follow them to their familiar vehicle, making no effort to hide your "enthusiasm" about hanging out with them.

"Oh, by the way, let your human friend know she doesn't have to pick you up- 'cause I haven't seen or spoken to her since the day we met at the hospital that first time," Undyne says as she pulls out of a parking space in the hospital lot quickly, barely throwing a glance back to even check if anyone is driving by on either side. You're convinced she's going to be the reason you and Alphys end up dying.

Undyne's shoulder scales gently graze your bicep while Alphys offers you her mobile phone to send the message to Libby, considering the loss of your own phone the night you'd been kidnapped and nearly murdered. Unlike how you'd shuddered at the sensation when you first met Undyne and she'd touched your shoulder, you don't even feel a spark of irritation this time, nor do you flinch away when your fingers brush Alphys' as she passes the phone over to your hands.

 _Hmm..._ You muse before brushing off whatever ideas are starting to form in your head. Maybe you're getting used to them is all. You still don't like them though, and you're sure that nothing will change how you feel. Now you just need to wait until  _they_ figure it out...

As you bring Alphys' phone towards yourself and get a better grip on it, you scrunch your eyebrows in confusion and surprise when you notice how incredibly weird her phone is. Upon turning it on, there are three unfamiliar pixel based starting features you are initially greeted with, one labeled " **Contacts** ", the other labeled " **Devices** ", and the third reading " **Dimensional Boxes** ".

Making assumptions solely based on the text, you decide to select the " **Contacts** " option. Thankfully, it brings you to a list of people, including a digital number dial pad, in a familiar software layout you recognize immediately. Before you can pull your finger up to the dial pad, you eyes land on two names at the top of the contacts list.

" **Papyrus the Great** " and...

" ** _Sans_** "...

Your eyes must rest on Sans' name longer than necessary, because you catch a look of confusion from Alphys out of the corner of your eye, prompting you to snap out of your thoughts and into the present.

You quickly punch in Libby's number and hit a button command reading " **Activate** ". It lists options for the number and you yet again make a face of confusion.

" **Call** ", " **Text** ", and " **Jape** ".

First of all, what the  _heck_ does "Jape" even stand for? You'll have to ask Alphys later to satisfy your curiosity.

The next option you choose is " **Text** ", which brings you to another familiar layout with a digital pixilated keyboard set for you to hastily type out your message.

" _Hey, it's (Name). I don't need a ride from the hospital."_

You rest the phone on your lap as you press the yellow power button on the front, only for something to  _literally_ shoot out from the top of the device and shatter one of the air conditioning vents in front of you. Rather than scream like you really want to after the startling snapping sound, you just flinch and stare wide eyed at the vent in horror, noting the melted plastic and smoke rising from the crushed debris. It's too dark inside of it to tell how far it's pierced the car, but the engine runs so smoothly that you assume it can't be too bad.

"O-oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot to disable the power shot button!" Alphys stammers in horror, taking the device from your petrified hands and leaving you sitting there with your hand out like some kind of statue. Your eyes slowly slide over to rest on Alphys as she tinkers with the phone, even going as far as to pull out a few unique types of screwdrivers from a small pearl colored  _Guess_ handbag on her lap.

_These two... Could kill me so easily if they wanted to. Undyne with her brute strength... And Alphys with her intelligent technology._

_..._

You wonder desperately how you got yourself in this mess.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Frisk's done that more times than we can count. See?" Undyne casually says, gesturing above you. You glance up and raise a single eyebrow when you see the many black burnt holes at the top of the car, several dollar sized openings where you can see the sky and the clouds peeking in. For a moment, you wonder who is this "Frisk" person Undyne mentions, but soon brush the thought away. Who cares?

"Wow," you hear yourself say, right before snapping your jaw shut abruptly. You already dislike how cozy they've gotten with you- no need to encourage it with meaningless conversation.

Undyne chuckles to herself knowingly, causing you to immediately look away in aggravation. It's as if she knows exactly what you're thinking... And you hate it. Meanwhile, Alphys is grinning out of the corner of your eye, clearly amused by your and Undyne's antics. It's obvious that she doesn't want you seeing her expression since she has her head ducked down as she tinkers with her, ehrm, _"_ _phone"._

Inside of you, there's a feeling that makes you softer when Alphys speaks to you, probably since she's a little like you in terms of social anxiety... But every time you try to shove it away, it pushes back full force when you look at her again.

 _I just want to go home and never interact with another living being ever again!_ You complain in your mind, leg bouncing as you stare ahead at the busy streets and move at a traffic speed of a snail's pace.

Undyne seems completely enraptured by her own thoughts and says nothing as she stares ahead with a much similar expression to your own, fingers gently tapping against the steering wheel to the beat of some Japanese pop music that's playing in the car.

"Alrighty, it's got it's safety on at maximum-" Alphys is cut off as she lifts the phone up, just at the same time as it begins to ring a tune that sounds like the opening credits to, surprisingly not another anime, but the  _Beetlejuice_ movie. Alphys is... Interesting.

Alphys frowns and lifts the phone to answer the call with a small smile as sweat already begins to coat a thin layer of shine atop her forehead.

"Y-yes, hello?" She stammers, just as a voice you could recognize from atop Mt. Everest proudly speaks from the other end of the line.

"Good morning, Alphys! I'd like to speak to Miss Human, please. I heard she was not in need of a ride and assumed you and Undyne picked her up from the hospital!" Papyrus voice comments from the speaker, prompting Alphys to blink in surprise and look over at you from where you watch her conversation with the rambunctious skeleton intently.

"Oh, um... Papyrus? How'd you find out she didn't need a ride from... Um," Alphys slightly fumbles without Libby's name, so you mouth it to her  _only_ because you want to know how Papyrus knows that information as well. "L-Libby?"

"Oh, quite simple! Pretty Human tossed her phone on the kitchen floor carelessly no less than a minute or so ago and left her messages open. I know you number quite well, Alphys, so I put the pieces of this puzzle together myself!" Papyrus audibly gloats on the line, before continuing with, "Don't tell her I looked though! She's locked herself in Sans room again for what they call  _'Real Time'._ Whatever  _that_ is. There's plenty of 'Real Time' around here in the kitchen as well, but if they wish to partake in such activities together... W-well, I guess I'll continue to clean the kitchen out here! ... Alone... With no one else. Which is fine!"

You don't even realize you're frowning at Papyrus claims when you replay his words in your head several times. Is Papyrus saying he feels abandoned in a bright, dignified tone to keep Alphys and Undyne from worrying? A quick glance a the two female monster's faces prove they don't believe a single part of his last statement.

"Pap. We're coming to get you. We're gonna go around a few places with our own human and stuff," Undyne states, smirking devilishly at you when you glare at the way she makes you sound like their pet dog. "You can clean later, we're already on our way OHNOBYEPAP!"

Undyne snorts with laughter at Papyrus' panicked voice as he struggles to comprehend and come up with an answer for Undyne at a similarly quick speed, but Undyne abruptly hangs up on him before he can.

"So are we picking Papyrus up first? O-or getting (Name)'s things at her place?" Alphys queries much to your confusion, causing you to glance at her inquisitively. Your confusion immediately makes Alphys blink in surprise, but instead of clearing things up with you, Alphys looks past you at Undyne with an expression of expectancy. "Undyne, you  _did_ ask her if she  _wanted_ to spend the night, right?"

"NOPE!" Undyne barks proudly, reaching past you for the glove compartment to pull out a book, one which has the title reading:  _"Best Friend Handbook"._ "See? Paps lent me this. The short version is that it says in here that best friends are there to basically annoy one another, steal each other's shit, break into each other's house, and never ask permission for anything! So...  _Surprise sleepover, Nerd!"_ Undyne cackles by the end of her claim, while Alphys nervously pulls at the collar of her top.

"Are you okay with this, (N-Name)?" Alphys is kind enough to ask as Undyne proceeds to blast the stereo at a higher volume and sing off-key Japanese words.

 _No,_ you immediately think, but considering how Undyne could likely suplex her truck on you in the blink of an eye-  _especially_ with the way you can see her one visible yellow eye narrowed studiously on you and daring you to reject her offer- you simply let out a heavy sigh and nod in confirmation.

Alphys' features light up in excitement much to your surprise, which alludes to the fact that she might not even be aware that her girlfriend is basically threatening you to hang out with them. "Y-you are?"

"...Yep," you answer, watching as Undyne stares at you from the corner of your eye.

 _Dear god, this is dumb,_ you think, just as Alphys picks up your hand- hope etched across her features as you meet her gaze. Your stomach flips uncomfortably. _Why is she looking at me like that...?!_

"Do you... I-I mean-! Do you wanna have an Anime binge marathon with us later?!" Alphys blurts out, much to your own and even _Undyne's_ surprise. 

"Babe?" Undyne inquires curiously, until Alphys releases your hand in horror. 

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't even ask if you liked anime- oh...!" Alphys chastises herself before continuing with, "You don't have to if you don't want to..."

"Hold the phone!" Undyne blurts from your other side, giving you no time to reply to Alphys whatsoever. She probably meant to do that... "Whether she likes it or not isn't the point. That is a _great_ idea!"

While Alphys glances at you for your verdict,  your eyes stay glued to Undyne, who momentarily flicks her own yellow slotted orbs in your direction. 

"But... It would be cool if you did." You stare at Undyne blankly,  so she adds, "If you liked anime too, I mean."

At first, you say nothing in response to Undyne. When you catch Alphys' expectant expression and curious gaze from your other side though, everything changes. Like magic, your brain and body lose contact with each other with each other, prompting you to quickly make as many nerdy hand signs from your favorite childhood show as you can, watching as Alphys' eyes and Undyne's single eye widen with recognition.

You put the final nail in the coffin. 

"Kage bunshin no jutsu."

...

Alphys and Undyne go dead silent like statues... Right before all hell breaks loose in the form of squeals and roars of load comments that overlap each other and threaten to turn you deaf. 

You wonder what compelled you to confirm you liked anime... And decide that the odd behavior is obviously the result of too much hospital food. 

 

* * *

 

  **(Fifteen Minutes Later)**

"I'll be back," you grumble as you hop out of Undyne's truck, passing Alphys as she waits for you to exit before she sits back on her seat next to Undyne. You want nothing more than to get in your house and lock yourself in for the rest of eternity, but something in the back of your head tells you that Undyne will just simply break down your door and drag you back out. Needless to say, you settle with just doing what they want you to do- pack jammies, clothes, and feed your kitten.

"Meow," a cute mewl chirps from the other side of the door prompting you to smile (finally) and bend down to gently scratch the back of your cat's little brown and white furry head.

Looking up a the kitchen and the living room... Libby, despite her (claimed) worries regarding your disappearance, doesn't appear to have visited home much since the day of your disappearance- as strange as that sounds. Maybe she's only popped in a few times? You really can't be too sure, but... You have to wonder- when did she ever report you missing? In fact, was she even aware that you'd vanished initially? And if she had known, was she just counting on whimsical hope that you'd suddenly manifest into the living room after day two?

The room, for lack of a better word at the given moment, is a pigsty. The same way you left it Thursday morning before you left for your classes and got kidnapped. Libby is an OCD type of girl, so technically this would be described as a "disaster zone" to her, one she wouldn't hesitate to clean up had she set her eyes on the place.

So how could she know you hadn't been there the first night if she didn't stop to clean the place up? One night would have been a reasonable amount of time that she would think you were avoiding her by bunking with a classmate or another friend (even though you aren't very social)- nothing like your absence after _three_ _days,_ in which you're sure she would have been too stressed out over your disappearance to clean anything.

Which initially leads you to believe the aforementioned: That Libby might not even have been aware that you were missing until the last minute. Libby had probably been having so much fun with the skeleton brothers that she didn't bother to check on your racist ass.

...No, that's preposterous. You had a minor falling-out with her, not an all out bloody unrecoverable feud. Small disagreements aren't enough to tarnish your relationship with Libby or make her  _completely_ avoid you... Hopefully.

 _Weird..._ You think, walking through the main room and to your bedroom door. As you turn the knob, you expect to find what you usually find on the other side: A sloppy unmade bed, a pile of dirty clothes shoved into one corner of the room, pens and art utensils lying across your desk... The usual mess you see every day.

...Which makes the additional thing you find in your bedroom all the more weirder.

Your eyes half bug out when you spot the only  _"off"_ part of your room, jaw slackening as you step in and eye what can only be described as a miniature tornado in the other corner of your room, with one of your pink socks, a few pens, and an empty bag of chips swirling around within in.

 _How the hell...?_ You wonder to yourself, losing track of time as you wait for the tornado to slow down and stop.

...

It does not.

"Knock, knock, girlie!" Undyne's voice cuts in through the insistent meows of your kitten trailing after you and pawing at your leg. "Libby sent a... Oh, I see  _Sans_ has been here. Fufu, in your  _bedroom._ I thought you were tryin' to get at Paps!"

Your face lights up on fire, but you don't hide it and instead spin around to give the smirking fish monster a sharp glare.

 _"Sans?"_ You echo with hollow disbelief. "That's  _funny._ 'Cause Sans and I are  _not_ friends. I've never even  _seen_ the guy! He's just friends with  _Libby,"_ you hiss dangerously. "What was he doing in my room?!"

Undyne shrugs casually. "Hey,  _I_ don't know. He may be my friend, but even I don't understand him half the time." The fish monster rolls her eyes with a slight grimace. "I'm just shocked he got off his lazy ass to even pull a prank like this. Normally, he just falls asleep wherever he sets his pile of bones."

You momentarily bite your lip at her words. A confirmation: So Sans is  _definitely_ a skeleton monster then...

_Urg! Why do you still even care?!_

...

 _Wait... Maybe that's how Libby knew. She must have convinced Sans to check on the house for her or something and_ that's _how they realized I vanished. I wonder how long it took for her to ask if I was alright. She probably didn't even_ _care._

"What's that stupid expression on your face for?" Undyne snickers, prompting you to scowl at her and snatch up a nearby bag to dump clothes and other necessities inside of it. Obviously, you do everything with a sour expression, both out of irritation at Libby and Sans. "Pff...! You look like you bit into a lemon!"

 _Whatever, fish-face,_ you think in annoyance, looking over at your desk before you're struck with the intense need to retaliate. You grab a plain piece of paper and with a bold marker, you write in large, bold letters, " **FUCK YOU, SANS** **.** "

With a wry grin, Undyne watches as you toss the page into the self-sustaining trash tornado. Sure, he's never going to read it, but at least it makes you feel better.

Undyne whistles in appreciation. " _Savage..."_

"Hm. Didn't you say something about a message from Libby?" You immediately recall, walking past her out of your room to head into the kitchen with your kitten at your heels.

"Oh, yeah! Well, it's more from Papyrus, but the gist of it is that your human friend is extremely pissed at you, wishes you well in health, but refuses to be in the same room as you for a while. Paps thinks she's doing this because she must have fallen in love with you- but let's face it, Paps always thinks the best about people. Your friend sure is angry at you, ain't she?" Undyne comments, watching as you sigh and roll your eyes at the news.

 _Okay, so maybe she_ is  _avoiding me. That's not_ my  _fault though!_ She's  _the one letting monster morality get in between our friendship! I'm not forcing her to dislike monsters, am I?_ No! _I should have never mentioned Papyrus to her that day... I should_ never  _have let that lousy staff member pawn the monster tour group over to me._

"It's fine. I need to cool down too, anyways," you grumble more to yourself than to Undyne in reassurance, grabbing a bin of kitten chow and pouring a moderate amount into the meowing kitten's bowl.

"Well, you can do that later after we deal with your lack of a communicative device! Come on, hurry so we can go pick up your future  _husband!"_ Undyne teases you, making sloppy kissy noises as you quickly screw the kitten food shut and straighten up with your overnight bag to follow her out of the comfort of your home once again.

_I hate my life._

 

* * *

 

"We'll be at Papyrus' place in about five minutes... You remember their apartment number, Babe?" Undyne questions, scratching the top of her head when we pull into the gateway of  _Mountainside Rivers_ apartment complexes and slow down beside a keypad to open the gate. "...And the gate code?"

"I know the apartment number- the gate code not so much," Alphys speaks, prompting you to glance down at her phone when she picks it up to (you assume) call Papyrus to give the code. Following your trip home, you sit next to your things in the backseat on Undyne's suggestion ( _read: threat)_ to keep Papyrus company when he joins you. All the while, your stomach swirls with discomfort and anger at a thought that you desperately shove into the back of your mind as you turn your gaze back towards the gated community of apartments.

 _Sans is in there. Probably laughing at that damned tornado he left in my fucking room,_ you think, doing your damned best to keep a snarl from forming on your face.

"UNDYNE! ALPHYS! I'M HERE!" You hear a voice shout while Undyne is in the middle of attempting the third string of four digit codes into the number pad, leaning half out of the truck window until Alphys and I look around her to see Papyrus deftly jumping over the tall complex gate ( _What?!)_  and finish jogging over to the truck. "Hi, Miss Human!"

You only realize you're gaping at him in awe until he opens the door to the truck and takes a seat beside you, his skull barely brushing the roof of the truck as he towers over you even while  _sitting down._ When he shuts the door and looks down at you, he offers you a smile and reaches over to pat your head as if you're a child. You reflexively puff your cheeks up with distaste.

"There, there, Miss Human. The Great Papyrus is here to quell your discomfort and help you recover in your time of need... Hm. Maybe it's a good thing Pretty Human decided to lock herself with Sans in his room!" Papyrus comments after pulling his seat belt on. Undyne, meanwhile, gets out of the entrance way and turns back into the street, visibly gritting her teeth at Papyrus words. You immediately recognize this as a sign of discontent regarding Papyrus' words. In regards to this, you do not offer any words of comfort.

"Well... More Papyrus for us then!" Alphys pipes up, turning her head to offer Papyrus a smile. "Right, (Name)?"

You're honestly surprised that she's asking you for your input on the matter, and despite wanting to keep out of it, you end up making a reluctant noise of agreement. Does Alphys think that you're starting to open up because of your revelation of liking anime? She'd be crazy to think that one confession suddenly means you'll swap mindsets regarding monsters...

"Exactly!" Undyne grins, straightening back to her usual upbeat self much to your relief. Not that you didn't like her upset- just that you have certain  _concerns_ on what she could do if angry, such as speeding down streets like even more of a driving maniac than she already is. Like  _you'd_ be worried over her  _feelings._ So stupid. "We're gonna have a blast today! We're taking girlie to get a replacement phone first! And then we're gonna go off to rent some movies at  _Redbox!_ WHOOO!"

You reflexively slap your hands down on either side of you when Undyne unexpectedly slams a foot down on the gas pedal to speed up, G-force sending you back against the seat for a sliver of a second. Your bag of things is on your left, but Papyrus is on your right in the back seat, so you end up grabbing onto his forearm by mistake in the heat of the moment. At the notice, Papyrus looks down at your hand on his arm and lets out a noise of understanding.

"Oh! You missed, Miss Human! If you're seeking comfort due to Pretty Human's message from before, I would be happy to oblige! However, this is the correct way to achieve your goal," Papyrus surprises you by peeling your hand off of him and taking it in his much larger sized gloved hand, which is a dark green color that matches the crop top he is wearing. As you sit there trying to absorb the situation, you realize there is some text on his crop top made with white fabric paint reading:  _"Lit Skeledude"._ Along with his ridiculous shirt, he wears a backwards green and orange baseball cap and matching orange shorts much too short to be for males. Considering he's a barbaric monster though, you decide that normal gender dress code probably doesn't matter and snap out of your musings to look up at him.

Without even thinking the consequences, you find him smiling down at you warmly. "There! Isn't that far more comforting, Miss Human? You look like you feel better already!" He pipes up, right before quickly taking a glance over at the front seat and leaning in closer to you. At first, you panic when you make the assumption that he's about to kiss you or something... Until he stops once he's a few inches away. "Undyne doesn't believe me when I say it, but I truly do believe Pretty Human is avoiding you because she has fallen in love with you. I don't blame Pretty Human- even Sans admitted you seem like a fun person. Though it surprised me, because I could have sworn he refused to enter the hospital room the day we went to visit...!"

Papyrus' whispering is atrociously  _not_ quiet, and when Undyne catches his words, her back straightens up like an arrow. With a simple flick of her head, she glances back at you accusingly with surprise. "Huh? I thought you said you've never met Sans!" She blurts out, while Papyrus clings to your hand and looks up with garbled panic and horror. Guess he really thought he was being sneaky...

_Gah, I hate explaining things- that's when I'm forced to talk the most..._

You shake your head at them. "I  _haven't_ met Sans. A little while ago when Libby was hanging out with Papyrus, I wanted to know if she was doing okay. I hadn't saved Papyrus number and accidentally erased my inbox to make space in my phone... So I typed in his number and sent him a message asking if Libby was okay. In the end, it turns out I accidentally got the last number wrong and instead of a five, I put in a six. So-"

Undyne lets out a massive snort of realization as the pieces click together, cutting you off in your story.

"Let me guess... You ended up texting lazybones," Undyne giggles, making you sigh heavily with a nod.

Papyrus scratches his head in thought while Undyne giggles loudly to herself like a maniac, Alphys looking back from you to Undyne in concern as her girlfriend continues to carelessly speed down the road, only slowing whenever an light comes up. At least Alphys is there to make sure Undyne doesn't crash into anything...

"I  _knew_ I needed to work on my fives and sixes... I am sorry, Miss Human! But besides that, what did my lazy brother say to you? I do hope he did not suffocate you with his lousy puns," Papyrus apologizes, making your lips twitch with slight amusement that you try not to display.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, he did drop a pun or two... The conversation wasn't that long or anything," you conclude, noting the way Undyne eyes you from the front with interest that slightly disturbs you. Why is she looking at you like that...? What's going on in that fish head of hers?

"I see... Well, anyways! I'm glad he finds you as amiable as Pretty Human and I do!" Papyrus chirps, turning to look out the window of the truck while holding your hand. It doesn't seem like he's going to let go anytime soon.

The topic has ended, yet it leaves you incredibly unsatisfied now that Papyrus has revealed more information on Sans. Just when you thought you were fucking over this...

 _Sans thinks I'm a fun person? I'm like, totally anti-social, what does_ he  _know..._

...

_Maybe he was being sarcastic...?_

Such thoughts continue to run around your mind as you soon find yourself parking in front of the nearest _AT &T, _which is surprisingly the same company you had prior to losing your phone despite not having told Alphys and Undyne. It's probably nothing though, they must have their contracts here too...

"Come along, Miss Human!" Papyrus brightly says as he helps unbuckle your seat belt (much to your embarrassment) when you drift off into dreamland momentarily. He helps you off of Undyne's tall truck even though you don't really need any help, with you doing your best to hide any negative expressions that form on your face if  _only_ because you're sure Sans will stick to his promise of a "bad time" if you upset his brother. As your feet hit the ground, Papyrus leers down at you critically. You don't understand what this look is for until he opens his mouth to let you in on his thoughts.

"I'm a little worried about letting you meet Sans later. He might end up rubbing off his lazy tendencies on you," Papyrus observes, causing your eyes to jump up to him with uncensored surprise.

He wants you to meet Sans? Later? How much later? Like today? ...This isn't a good idea. This is a bad idea... But it's extremely tempting.

"Oh," is all you manage to reply, causing Papyrus to cock his head slightly to the side at your reply. He is still looking down at you inquisitively, and both of you have yet to follow Alphys and Undyne into the store. Granted, you're not at all surprised when you hear Undyne's voice shout from the store to snap the two of you out of your (one sided) conversation.

"Hey, LOVENERDS! Get a move on! And don't forget to lock my truck!" Undyne booms from the entrance of the  _AT &T _store, causing Papyrus to jerk in surprise before he deals with closing the truck on Undyne's command. All the while, you are completely irritated by the fact that Papyrus is still holding your hand. It makes you feel like someone's little kid again, and you  _hate_ it.

You follow Papyrus into the store moodily, but once the air conditioning inside hits your overheated skin, you find yourself cooling down along with your attitude. Undyne and Alphys stare with big smiles at your hand in Papyrus' as you and the skeleton join them at the front desk, the human men on the other side huddled at the far back in the middle of a conversation... that seems to involve you and the monsters considering the way they keep glancing on over at your group.

 _I hate talking to people..._ You think, taking a peek back over at Alphys when she begins to drift off to explore the rest of the smartphones in the store. Papyrus sticks to your side with your hand in his, leading you up to the desk where Undyne is already stretching and yawning by. You and Papyrus stare at the representative agents on the other side of the desk as they converse... Or argue. Either way, one looks less than pleased by your group's arrival.

...

"Hello? Any day now? We have stuff to do too, you know, punks?" Undyne comments casually over to them, making the two men jump in surprise. What, did they think they were invisible or something? Dumb asses...

When neither of them move out of shock from Undyne's forward words, she tosses them a glare that eventually prompts the younger looking man with black hair to step up to you, face sporting a nervous smile that looks ready to crumble into pieces at any given moment.

"G-good morning!" The young man says while you watch Undyne size him up with her sharp yellow eye, her expression never wavers as she reaches forward and shifts his name tag to get rid of the sun's glare. Papyrus, however, seems oblivious to the man's discomfort as well as Undyne's threatening stance on the situation.

"Good morning, Sir Human! We are here to purchase a replacement intellectual phone for our human friend," Papyrus explains, getting straight to the point of your visit while the man stands in place before Undyne, waiting for her to say something. The man almost looks ready to wet his pants.

"...'Kennedy', eh? I swear, you humans and your weird names..." Undyne mutters the last part under her breath towards you without waiting for a reply on the matter. Not that you were going to reply anyways. "Like my pal, Paps, said. Our friend needs a new phone. Now. We're running against a clock, chump."

"Right!" He squeaks, looking at you quickly and relaxing as his eyes meet yours. Guess he'd rather not stare at miss fish... "We have plenty of good smartphones! Which one are you-"

You cut him off to point at one in the display to the right of Papyrus, bearing a fancy looking gold  _ZTE: Axon 7_ smartphone you'd been eyeing for quite a while after much research.  _"That_ one." _  
_

"Oh, shoot... I'm deeply sorry, Miss, but I think we're completely out of stock of-"

Undyne releases a growl and makes a snarl to expose her sharp barracuda-like teeth, prompting the man to jump in horror as he looks back over at Undyne in alarm.

"Y-you know what? We might just have one somewhere in the back! Let me go check real qu-uick!" He yelps, voice cracking slightly near the end as he dives towards their back room and vanishes behind heavy white doors.

 _'Thank you'_ , nearly slips past your opening lips, but you shut your jaw before it can come out. Undyne has noticed though, and the grin that curls across her face says it all. You just silently glare at the table top- trying to ignore her.

"It sure is refreshing in here, isn't it, Miss Human?" Papyrus questions, making you look up and nod quietly in reply as he gives you a nicer smile than Undyne's smug grin. Regarding the two of you, you spot Undyne open her mouth to no doubt tease the two of you... But thankfully, Alphys pops up beside her girlfriend with her own phone at hand to interrupt any verbal jabs out of the red haired monster. Whether the intervention is her intention or not, you're somewhat grateful for her returned presence.

"These 'smartphone' designs are  _so_ much more detailed than my sixteen pixel graphic cellphone! I should really upgrade our devices, Undyne," Alphys comments, stars in her eyes as she looks up at her girlfriend beside her.

Seems like something in Alphys' words and expression has Undyne grinning even brighter than before, causing the fish woman to snatch her girlfriend's arm and tug her close. Before you know it, Undyne has an arm slung over her girlfriend's shoulders, snickering at the way Alphys blushes and glances at you, Papyrus, and the remaining worker that watches your odd group with interest.

"That's my awesome  _Alphy~!_ Always putting your all in your nerdy inventions!" Undyne crows, cuddling her girlfriend as Alphys' face turns bright red with embarrassment.

"U-Undyne! Not in front of Papyrus and the h-humans...!" The golden lizard stammers, causing Undyne to cackle,  _"Always_ in front of the humans!  _Mwah~!"_

 _Cute,_ you think with obvious mental disgust you don't show on your face, until you feel a hand tighten around yours. Your straight face immediately fades into slight fear when you remember who you're currently holding hands with. With barely contained fear, you turn your head to look up at Papyrus, already fearing the worst- that being Papyrus getting inspiration to coddle you like Undyne is currently doing to Alphys.

Much to your relief, he is staring at Undyne with a less than impressed expression of resignation etched across his face. It's a look you've never seen on his face before.

"Obscene," he remarks, causing Undyne and Alphys to stop cuddling and look over at him. You're quite shocked by his words, until he continues on to explain  _why._ "According to my trusty  _Dating Handbook,_ kissing should not occur until after the third date! How many official dates have the two of you had,  _hmm?"_

Undyne and Alphys blink dumbly at him, flick their eyes up towards the ceiling as they think together, and then share a sheepish smile once they come to a conclusion.

"One...?" Undyne answers, with Alphys quickly adding, "B-but we've been roommates since the barrier fell down, so that's got to count, r-right?"

Papyrus shakes his head and sighs heavily, pressing the palm of his gloved hand against his forehead rather dramatically. "Amateurs, I say," he concludes, before looking down at you beside him with a smile. "Well, Miss Human and _I_ are going to do our dating the  _correct_ way! Aren't we, Miss Human?"

This could probably be taken as a rhetorical question, but you're not willing to take any chances at upsetting him (and by extension, his brother), so you just nod your head in confirmation despite the bitter taste the word  _'date'_  leaves in your mouth. Heck, you're not even actually saying it and it  _still_ bugs you.

Undyne looks like she's about to say something in return to what Papyrus says, but the sound of something crashing in the back of the store makes all of you turn to glance at the door leading to their storage. 

"I'm okay!" Is the strangled reply that echoes from the far back, prompting you to relax and look back over at Undyne. To your relief, it seems like Alphys has decided to distract her into a conversation about their phones and the smartphones here- so the risk of Papyrus getting upset is slim to none as long as you make sure you yourself are at least civil with him.

 _...Wait. Sans just said_ I  _should refrain from hurting his brother in any way. Not that I had to defend him in case someone_ else  _hurts him! I don't need to be Papyrus' guard dog!_ You realize, shaking your head and muttering a derogatory term at yourself.

The doors burst open and the black haired man from before walks on up to you with unkempt, messy hair and dust covering his white flannel. His nervous smile is back on his face as you take the box of your new phone from him and open it up to make sure all is well with the device. Once your curiosity is satisfied, you nod to the man and pull out your wallet to pay, doing your best to still hold Papyrus hand in the process.

 _So. Dumb._ You continue to complain in your head, paying for the device while the man shakily moves around to quickly fix the phone with a SIM card and turn it on.

"We've recovered your old number and restored your backed up contacts on  _Google._ If there are any issues, you have thirty days to return the smartphone and get it exchanged or returned. Th-thank you for visiting!" The black haired guy barely manages, holding his hand out for your debit card while his taller co-worker pats his shoulder gently as if to reassure him he's doing okay.

As his hand gets closer to your card, you suddenly flick your wrist back and raise a single eyebrow of expectancy at him when he looks up in confusion and visibly swallows. This guy  _really_ needs to take a chill pill, he's acting like he's talking to some gang from the hood rather than an odd group of monsters (plus one normal human- _you)._

"I'm not done yet," you comment, watching as a new layer of sweat begins to form on the man's forehead. "I just want an SD card for it. A 128 gigabyte  _Samsung Pro_  card."

The young man nods and quickly snatches one from a wall behind himself, placing it on the table and flinching when he realizes that Undyne is watching him intently. All at once, his body locks up and his movements to scan the serial code for the card become stiff like a robot.

Only once he has the item scanned do you hand him your debit card, watching as his arms quiver in front of the register like a new born calf.

"Are you cold, Mister Human? You really should turn up the temperature if you are uncomfortable! I hear it's quite dangerous for humans to be too cold!" Papyrus pipes up in concern, causing the human to look up in surprise and relax a smidgen at Papyrus expression.

"I-I'm fine! I'm just nervous!" The man looks shocked at his admittance, and quickly fumbles at shifting expressions as you all stare at him in confusion. "S-sorry! It's my first day here... I've never worked in a place like this before."

Your eyes soften when you spot the look of embarrassment forming across his face, his cheeks visibly burning a bright red that makes Papyrus hum in understanding. At the stares of your group, the man ducks his head a little and mutters another meek apology, his co-worker visibly chuckling behind him and reaching out to rub the back of his neck sympathetically.

"You're doing fine, Ken," the other man reassures him, prompting Undyne to snort loudly with a huge grin so that all eyes fly over to her.

"Well, if you can work that well without shitting your pants like the last human that took my order at _Jamba Juice,_ then you're gonna do great! You've got this in the bag, man," Undyne cackles, gently (read: not gently) punching Ken's shoulder in a sign of support.

You watch as the man's expression shifts from embarrassment to regained composure, a small smile forming at his lips as he finishes bagging your things and hands you your card, bag, and new phone.

"Thank you. Come again," he chirps with a much more natural smile towards you that you can't help but return it a  _little_ after his change in attitude.

"That's the spirit!" Undyne laughs, turning towards you and Papyrus while you start tinkering with your phone's contacts and begin adding Libby's number. Following that, you add her father's number, and then-

"Don't forget to add _our_ numbers~!" Papyrus chirps as he pushes open the door for you. You mutter a 'thank you' before you can stop yourself, but do your damned best to keep Undyne's grin out of your peripheral vision. You really hate how giddy the fish monster gets whenever you show them gratitude. "Anytime, Miss Human!"

You quickly punch in Papyrus number by memory, causing him to gasp over your shoulder as he not-so-discreetly watches your business over your shoulder.

"Miss Human! I am flattered you know my phone number by memory!" Papyrus gasps behind you. You have to restrain yourself from rolling your eyes- until you realize something rather embarrassing.

The only reason you know his freaking phone number is because of your interest in his damn brother, and you _hate_ that reason.

_...!_

You stop dead in your tracks when you are overcome with a strange sensation of déjà vu, feeling Papyrus grunt lightly when he gently bumps into you despite his attempts to completely stop before he can run you over. An inquisitive expression falls upon the skeleton's face and you think you see him say something- but your eyes have glazed over and your ears begin to ring.

In a daze, your eyes drag around curiously until you find yourself staring down a familiar alleyway. In an instant, everything clicks together like a puzzle.

_ This is the same alley where I saw that frog monster get attacked in my nightmare before. _

You feel a little sick as you stare down the alley, but the overwhelming instinct to progress to the location of the attack in your dream is hard to ignore. Will it be the exact same place? Or is this just a freaky coincide-?

"Hel-loo? Miss _Huumaaan?_ Earth to (Name)!" Undyne is yelling, waving a scaled hand in front of your face until you snap out of your reflections. You look up at her, watching as her one yellow eye narrows on you. She's giving you a weird look that makes you stare back in confusion. "Again:  _Where_ are you going?"

Your eyes widen and you look around, only to discover that you're already halfway through the alley between two large buildings. You can't remember when you started moving, but Papyrus grip around your hand has tightened considerably.

"Miss Human, are you of good cognitive health? You wandered off so abruptly!" Papyrus comments worriedly, while Alphys clings to one of your belt loops, eyes flashing with worry as she keeps you from walking any further.

You take a quick glance back down the alley, before looking back at them in confusion. "I must have been daydreaming, I don't even remember walking over here," you admit, watching as Alphys blows out a breath of relief and offers you a smile.

"W-well! Let's get going to _Redbox_ then," Alphys speaks up, leading you out of the alley until you are beside Papyrus again- who quickly confiscates your hand once more in his with a grin as your group hop into Undyne's truck. Undyne gives you a pensive stare from the rearview mirror, but looks away when it appears that she doesn't find what she's looking for.

"So, do we wanna watch anything besides anime?" Undyne asks us, a smile returning to her face while you cross your arms beside Papyrus awkwardly- his hand still locked with yours.

"Ooh! Let's watch a horror movie!" Papyrus brightly announces, making Alphys frown in concern as she turns in her seat to look at the excited skeleton. 

"Are you sure that's appropriate? You have class tomorrow with Undyne... Are you sure you want to watch a horror movie tonight? You know how you get whenever you watch a particularly scary movie... I don't want Sans chewing us out if you get insomnia and end up calling him to come get you in the middle of the night," Alphys says, causing Papyrus to raise his free hand and wave her off confidently with a smile. Meanwhile, you look up at him and wonder just how old he is _exactly._ They keep speaking to him as if he's a child, and it's kind of weird.

"Fret not, Alphys! My brother can vouch for me that I no longer have nightmares after watching scary movies. Allow me to...?" Papyrus reaches into his pocket and trails off when his hand comes back out with nothing. "...I believe I have mistakenly forgotten my cellular device at home."

"Crap. So did I," Undyne says, before glancing over at Alphys. Alphys gives a sheepish smile and raises her own phone, which is connected to the car charger outlet, replying with, "My cellphone doesn't work when it's charging... I really need to upgrade our phones."

Undyne suddenly grins from the driver's seat, her gums pulling back to reveal her sharp teeth. "No better time than the present to see how well your phone works! You know Papyrus number, so I'm sure you can dial up Sans for us, right?" Undyne says with a oddly bright and playful tone, which causes you to give her a look of alarm when you realize what is up with her.

_ She knows about my interest in Sans, doesn't she? _ You wonder, hand freezing in place over your new phone as you finish getting the numbers you _do_ remember into it. You didn't really want to put Sans number into your phone in the first place, because it means having to see his name every time you scroll through your contacts. Even just having his unsaved number inputted there makes you anxious... Like he'd somehow find out and ridicule you for it.

"Go on, (Name). Get to dialing," Undyne chuckles in clear amusement as you glare at her from the back seat, practically stabbing the numbers into your phone and hitting the call button immediately so that you don't end up chickening out in front of the studious fish monster.

The dial tone of the call connecting makes you even more anxious as you wait for Sans to pick up, looking away from your phone as you hit the speaker and hold up the device so that you're not the one that has to talk back to him. You can already hear his deep voice in the back of your mind as the fourth ring sounds.

A quick glance ahead and you see Undyne still smirking as she drives, fingers tapping excitedly against the steering wheel. 

_ Click! _

You jerk in surprise at the sound of someone picking up, noting Undyne's quick snort of amusement until a voice speaks.

_"(Name). This is the complete_ opposite _of the message I had Undyne pass to you,"_  you hear the familiar voice of Libby say, causing your stomach to churn immediately in frustration at her dry tone of annoyance.

_ If I was calling you, I'd have called  _ your _ damn number- not Sans's! _

You only huff in reply to her words and push the smartphone over to Papyrus, who takes it from you all the while eyeing you in confusion.

"Pretty human! This is Papyrus here. All our phones are dead, hence our usage of your friend's phone! May I ask you to please pass the phone over to my lazybones of a brother?" Papyrus brightly queries, causing Libby to audibly speak to someone else from wherever she is (no doubt Sans' room), making an attempt to cover the phone speaker. 

The attempt is pretty lousy though, and you all end up hearing what she has to say to the other person clearly.

_ "Did you realize Paps left...?!" _  You hear her ask, causing Papyrus expression to stiffen in a fake smile that makes you chest clench in pity much to your annoyance. If anything, you must feel that way because it hits home on the same level as Libby ignoring you.

 _ Yeah, I feel you on that note, _ you think moodily, eyes shifting to Papyrus while he waits for Libby to talk again, visibly sulking a smidgen after hearing her words. You wonder if it's due to Libby favoring Sans to share her confidentialities with over Papyrus that has his mood down.

Again though, you offer no attempts at comforting him. You do, however, feel inexplicably uncomfortable with this choice. Your logic points back to reasons that his situation is much like yours, and blames your discomfort on that factor.

_ "Papyrus, why didn't you tell us you were leaving?" _ Libby asks, her tone on the border between scolding and comforting.

"I left a sticker note since you were busy conversing in Sans room," Papyrus comments confidently, and you can't help but feel the corner of your lip twitch in amusement. He means " _sticky_ note", right?

_ "Oh... Well, alright. I'm passing the phone to Sans now," _ you hear her reply, just as Papyrus catches you staring up at him and offers you a renewed grin of pride that wipes off his previous despondent expression. You immediately look away in embarrassment, scolding yourself for staring so boldly like an idiot. Who knows what other crazy notions he'll come up with after seeing you staring at him...!

"Thank you _very_ much, Pretty Human," Papyrus says on the phone, just before looking at you and reassuring you with, "Don't worry, Miss Human, you are very pretty as well."

Your cheeks heat up considerably at his bold testament, and you turn to stare out the window while you collect yourself. You know you aren't ugly or unattractive, but it's very odd to have someone call you 'pretty' to your face when people usually avoid your anti-social ass... Actually, if anything, you're just an average, boring plain-Jane.

Is that Papyrus' type of girl? Boring and anti-social? Well. No wonder he agreed to date you then.

_ "Sup, bro."  _

You are now listening like a supersonic sonar.

"Sans! I need you to verify to Undyne and Alphys that I am quite capable of sleeping through the night after a scary movie!" Papyrus blurts out. After a moment of silence, Alphys speaks up as well with her own input, adding, "W-we just want to make sure he's going to be okay since he has class tomorrow morning with Undyne!"

"Damn straight- Physical Education is no joke. He needs his rest for that class," Undyne states rather seriously, shooting you a wink through the rearview mirror when you look up at her with a raised eyebrow.

You don't even attempt to conceal your annoyance.

_ "Eh, he'll be fine. If he does end up needing help to sleep though, just check the Play Store on Miss Human's phone. There's probably ** a nap  ** _ _ for that." _

Papyrus expression falls like a rock as he sighs heavily with a groan of vexation. He just looks so done that even _you_ can't help the soft giggle of amusement the manages to find its way past your lips. Immediately, Papyrus sits up straight and looks over at you, raising a brow bone like he isn't sure what you're laughing at.

"Miss Human, if it is my brother's _pun_ that you're adorably giggling at... _Stop._ Do not encourage him," Papyrus lightly scolds you seriously, while you attempt to regain your original composure and hide your face from Alphys' and Undyne's gazes of delight. Speaking of not encouraging anyone- _Stop encouraging Alphys and Undyne in their attempts to make you have fun with them._

You feel the blood drain from your face when you hear a deep chuckle from the speaker of your new smartphone. Shit, he knows you were laughing...! ...GAH, what do _you_ care?!

Automatically, your arms cross with indifference as Sans speaks up again. _"Good to know someone enjoys a nice **bone-a fide** pun around here."_

You roll your eyes at this one, but the effect is not lost on you. It's _clever,_ considering he's a skeleton monster... Most likely. You'd be lying if you said you weren't still hoping he'd turn out to be an adopted human.

"Hehe... What's wrong, (Name)? Say something to Sans," Undyne audibly teases from the drivers seat, causing you to nail her with a sharp look to 'shut up'.

_ "Heh, you're not scared, are you, Miss Human? I don't bite,"  _Sans' gravelly voice comments on the line. Rather than reply, you turn your face away in defiance.

It's not that you're scared of him, no _way_ would you _ever_ be scared of a dumb comedian skeleton with a skull as hollow as a ping-pong ball.

A deep chuckle from the phone snaps you out of your thoughts, and it isn't until you see the varied expressions of Undyne's awestruck disbelief, Alphys' panic, and Papyrus' shock that you realize your dumb ass has said that shit out loud.

 _"You're a mouthy human, aren't you? Hey, do me a favor... Take the call off of speaker. I want to tell you something privately... If you've got the **guts** that _ I _don't have."_

You initially choose to ignore his challenge, watching Papyrus expression drop at his brother's joke as he grumbles and looks back over at you. His expression immediately shifts into a smile of encouragement as he offers your new phone back to you, but you refrain from immediately taking it. Undyne is glancing from the road to the rearview mirror and back several times, as if trying to will you to take the phone with her eye. Alphys nervously watches, twisted around in her seat and watching intently.

 _Urg... Fine, I'll talk to him!_ You shout in your head, reluctantly taking the smartphone from Papyrus when he pushes it closer to you. You take it and turn off the speaker, taking a deep breath before lowering the volume and holding the phone up to your ear.

Curiously enough, you don't even have to tell him you're ready- he hums pensively as soon as the phone is at your ear and you can't help but allow your eyes to flick around nervously to see if he's around or something. Now, you don't know what he looks like- but you assume being a skeleton is enough of a neon sign if you need to make sure he's not following you guys in another car on the street or anything...

 _Oh, come on, that's just ridiculous, why the hell would he be following us if he's got Libby to entertain over there?_ You think dryly.

 _"Gimme a sec..."_ He says casually on the phone. A second or two later, there is an oddly loud popping noise from his side of the line and you gasp lightly in surprise with a flinch. Sans audibly sighs in content as if he's getting comfortable somewhere, and you wait for him to continue. _"That's better. Now, Miss Human..._ _ **Patella**_ _me the time and place."_

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, causing you to replay his last words several times in your head- all the while pretending his stupid pun isn't funny.

"...What?" You eventually ask, scratching your head in confusion and ignoring the intrigued expressions on the faces of the monsters around you. You yourself are intrigued by his words... Until he continues with something so shocking and embarrassing that you can barely _believe_ you're hearing it from him.

 _"I got your message, babe. 'Fuck you, Sans', remember? After all, you_ did _just write it no more than an hour ago,"_ Sans reveals nonchalantly, until you're so overwhelmed with panic and embarrassment at his following chuckling that you yank the phone from your ear and hang up on his ass without even _thinking_ of the consequences.

"Oh, are you done already? What did he tell you?" Papyrus curiously inquires, but you're so mortified by Sans words that you just duck your head in your hands as you wait out the fiery burning of your face, phone dropping down into your lap. "Miss Human?"

Once you regain your composure again, you nod and face Papyrus seriously. "I'm done. Yes," you only confirm, watching the curiosity flashing in his eyes (eye sockets? You can't really tell) as you stare back at him.

"Why was your face all red after you took him off speaker?" Undyne innocently inquires. Your eyes shoot her another glare.

"...He found a certain paper in my home that I recently 'decorated'," you hint to Undyne, watching her furrow her brow in confusion until her eye flashes with realization. A smug grin curls across her face. "He decided to poke fun at me for it."

"Oh, that's not nice at all! I will talk to him later, Miss Human! Fear not! The Great Papyrus will solve all your inconsequential dilemmas!" Papyrus boasts, throwing the hand you can't remember him releasing over your shoulder to pull you closer to his side.

"I-I'm sure he's just messing around... Sans probably won't do it again, he's a rather lethargic monster," Alphys assures me as we continue on towards _Redbox._

You can do this. Just a movie, a marathon, a sleepover... Undyne quite possibly probing you for details on Sans private conversation with you... Everything will probably go hunky-dory.

...!

Wait a minute...! If Sans saw your note again, that would mean he went into your _bedroom_ again!

You pick your phone up again and furiously type out a message, immediately inputting his number and hitting send once again before your guts really _do_ shrivel up and vanish.

_'STAY OUT OF MY ROOM.'_

...

...

 ** Ping! **

...

 _'Snope.'_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Editing finished! Hiatus (somewhat) OVER!!
> 
> (Yyyeeessssshhhh.)
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	9. All in an Afternoon's Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to Redbox. Your life gets worse because of monsters. What's new?

Ch. 9: All in an Afternoon's Suffering 

"How about this one?!" Alphys pipes up, appearing beside you suddenly with a box set of an anime brandished _Corpse Party_ at hand. There is a shy and nervous grin plastered to her face as she holds it up to you, like a child asking their parent to purchase them something they really want. You hate the charming way she's unintentionally making your resolve to dislike monsters waver. "S-since Sans gave the 'OK' on horror for Papyrus, why not watch a horror anime along with it? I think it looks p-pretty good..."

Papyrus takes the box set from her with a discerning eye while you stare at the back of it from your shorter place beside him.

You've actually played the _Corpse Party_ game on PC before, however you were not aware- until then, that is- that an anime for it had been made. You nod and hum in appreciation before you can stop yourself, blushing slightly and darting your eyes down to your feet in frustration when you hear a cackle on the other aisle of shelves behind you and Papyrus. Ugh, freaking Fish Face seems to always pop up whenever you do something _remotely_ polite or _"nice"_ to them.  
Could she breathe down your fucking neck any more than she already was?

_It's just a slip-up, dumb ass. I'm a racist, not an asshole._

_…_

_Actually, that's technically in the same vein... But whatever, no need to micro-investigate that._

_"Anyways~"_ Undyne drawls knowingly, pulling yours and Alphys' attention while Papyrus continues to study the box set of anime in his hand. "I found a few movies while you punks were digging through anime."

Alphys blinks slowly at her girlfriend. Somehow, this worries you for some reason, though you can't quite put your finger on it...

...That is, until Undyne, without warning, ducks down behind the four and a half foot shelf and comes back lifting up a bloody _tower_ of DVDs and _Blu-Ray_ disks, abruptly shoving them crudely in your arms like it's no big deal. She gives you a snicker when you immediately struggle to balance all of the disks in your bewildered state, your jaw flopping open in moderate offense as she gives you a smug wink of amusement at your new predicament she would personally call "childs play".

"Look over those and decide, yeah? Imma step out and go to the grocery store up around the corner to see if I can buy some popcorn and shit," Undyne says haughtily, looking towards Alphys and blowing the gold lizard a kiss that turns the shy monster's scales a scalding pink color. "Later, _babe."_

Undyne obviously makes a point to sashay her hips down the aisle and out the door for her girlfriend, causing you to soon blanch in horror when you realize you too are _also_ staring at Undyne's muscular and well-rounded glutes- which you immediately look away from to see if you're not the only one that's been hypnotized.

Of course, Alphys is steaming like a geyser straight out of Yellowstone, face as red as even the most ripened of tomatoes. So if you were staring and Alphys too was (obviously, she's her girlfriend) stuck staring after Undyne, then...

You look over at Papyrus, a male through-and-through, to see if he has been made a victim to Undyne's snake-like charm.

At that point, Papyrus lifts his head up from your phone as your eyes land on him, but instead of staring after Undyne, his gaze jumps animatedly down to you.

"Miss Human! I must agree with Alphys' decision, this moving picture looks absolutely-! ...Miss Human, the chalky red coloring of Alphys face occurs regularly, however... Are you aware that _your_ face appears dangerously rosier than usual?" Papyrus asks with an obliviousness that nearly makes you drop all the movies in your arms. _Really?!_ Did he seriously not see the way Undyne was shaking her behind out the door?!

Alphys, although still glowing red, snaps out of her stupor before you do. "Here, l-let me help you with those..." She stutters, taking half of the tower in your arms and lowering herself down on the ground.

With the other half of the tower (and a thanks to whatever deity convinced Papyrus to cease holding your hand), you lower yourself down carefully as well, Papyrus following suit as you all huddle around and set the movies down to sort through.

Jeez, but did Undyne _really_ need to pick up these many when you all (as in everyone except you, because you just gave a careless shrug) agreed on watching three movies and then move to binging on anime?

"Uhh, let's see..." Alphys grabs the first one up top her divided pile, only to glance at the box cover and blink in confusion. "The, um... _'H-Human Centipe-'"_

You could not have _snatched_ the DVD from her faster than you did, turning to put it in a discard pile where another DVD is already residing- a movie deceptively named _'Teeth'. "_ (N-Name)?" Alphys stammers questioningly, until you look up from tucking the disk away.

"Trust me, Alphys. Even _I'm_ merciful enough not to put you to watch that one," you surprise her with saying, causing Alphys to brighten up a smidgen. No doubt because you've managed to give them a fully strung sentenced answer, rather than one syllable or a silent shrug. When she seems to replay your words in your head though, she gives the disk behind you a nervous look of curiosity.

"W-why? Is..." She pauses to swallow anxiously. "Is it really s-scary?"

Your expression twists in disgust as you glance back over at the in the discard pile.

"Yes. Though not in the way you're imagining, I'm sure," you reply, before shuddering and picking up the next disk in your tower- which is promptly placed in the rejection pile with the other two movies. The next three disks follow, and before you've realized it, Papyrus and Alphys seem to have presumably decided to relax and let you sort out the worst ones.

"Wowie, Miss Human! Have you already seen all of these moving pictures on your own?" Papyrus inquires brightly, making you look up as you begin a pile for the acceptable horror movies you all can choose from, as well as a pile for movies you'd yet to see and are questionable at best.

"Not all. The ones in the discard pile and the good pile here, yes... The movies in _this_ pile," you gesture to the 'questionable' pile beside you. "I haven't seen, and therefore don't know what to expect out of them."

Papyrus hums in understanding, before his brow bones knit together in sudden realization.

"I, the Great Papyrus, can't help but feel a smidgen culpable for leaving home without immediately alerting my lazy bones of a brother now... Perhaps he would have liked to watch these moving pictures with us too?" Papyrus laments to himself, which you only hum at in reply- though not in agreement. You're just merely giving the illusion that you actually care about what he's saying.

 _No, I for one am thankful. Because your brother is a class 'A' for 'Asshole'. Please don't invite him,_ you think sourly, ducking your head to concentrate on sorting through the movies and using the veil of your hair to hide your expression of disgust.

Damn bastard didn't even agree to stay out of your room... Who knows what kind of a creep he is? He could be digging through your underwear drawers for all you know! And-!

"NYEH! I think I'll call him and ask really quickly...!" Papyrus apparently snaps under the pressure of his building guilt, causing your eyes to snap up to him in horror. You carefully conceal the expression when he momentatily spots it and gives you a questioning look. "Miss Human? Is something wrong?"

You struggle to get an excuse from your brain to your mouth, Papyrus studying your face quite observantly despite his constant childish disposition. The way he stares at you makes you shrink back under the attention, causing an uncomfortable exposure of your meek side

"(Name)?" Alphys asks carefully, looking up from the descriptions of a few movies from the good pile. "W-what's wrong?"

Your nerves stiffen in discomfort. They're asking questions! What should you do?!

 _Shit, shit... What do I say?_ You ask yourself desperately.

"I just... Um, it's that- L-Libby..." You trail off uselessly, but surprisingly enough, Papyrus is the first to come up with another one of his presumptuous assumptions.

"Oh! Perhaps you are worried about Sans bringing Pretty Human with him after she explicitly asked for space from you?!" Papyrus blurts out proudly, as if he's gone and won an award for guessing correctly. His wording of your situation with Libby stings a bit, but you stop yourself from sulking over it anymore.

_No, I don't want your goddamn brother there!_

"Yes!" You blatantly agree, startling Alphys with the sudden rising incline of your usually short and unassertive, moody replies. At this point, you'll agree to anything if it means not seeing Sans face to face after... After he found that vulgar message you wrote about him in your room. You may have been curious to see him before- but any lingering curiosity has evaporated from you like a sea sponge out of water. Now you'd rather _die_ than make eye contact with the smug bastard.

"I see. Well then..." You breathe out a short sigh of relief. He's not going to text his brother, thank go- "I'll just ask him to drop Pretty Human off at her place and come alone by himself! Pretty Human told us she had to go to work around an hour from now, after all!"

"W-wait-!" You don't manage to say in time before he's already getting down to business.  
Your throat tightens uncomfortably when you find that Papyrus has inexplicably gotten ahold of your new phone somehow, causing you to glance down at your pants pocket where it previously had been tucked in, the specific pocket in question being located on the opposite side of where he is currently sitting from you. Curse this skeleton and his long-ass arms!

There is the sound of a deep voice on the line, but the words are incoherent from where you sit beside him- the feeling of impending doom and shame creeping into your gut. You feel sick all of a sudden. It's anxiety, sure, and also overwhelming _embarrassment_. Is this how Alphys feels all the time?

"Brother, it is _I!_ The Great Papyrus! ...Again! I forgot to ask, would you like to join Miss Human, Undyne, Alphys, and I in watching moving pictures of the horror genre?!" Papyrus quickly gets out, oblivious to the way you stare at him apprehensively.

There's a fifty-fifty chance that Sans will pick either option. It's out of your hands now.

"...Ah, I see. Well, I at least wanted to invite you just in case, rather than leave you hanging with nothing to do. However, if you have work to attend, then I guess there's nothing we can do. Which labor will you be offering assistance at tonight?"

…

"SANS, CATCHING UP ON OBLIGATORY NAP TIME IS NOT WORK! …?! Do not give me those atrocious sleep-related puns either! NYEH! This was an _awful_ idea! I should have listened to Miss Human! My ears have been violated!" Papyrus all but shouts, while you sit there with a another wave of relief. He's rejected Papyrus invitation!

_Yes!_

"…What? You changed your mind? ...Will you promise not to poison Miss Human's mind with your awful puns? Yes? Fine! I will allow it! We will see you tonight then!" Papyrus finishes, hanging up on the call promptly afterwards and turning to face you with his big skeletal grin. "Sans has agreed to meet up with us at Undyne's and Alphys' place after work!"

_WHHYYY?!_

You look over at Alphys in half panic, using your hair to hide the expression from Papyrus while you allow the better of the three monsters you've been stuck with, Alphys, to see how _not okay_ you are about the new arrangement to your get together.

Alphys' eyes flash in understanding when she sees your expression, but before she can get a single word out-

"(Name)?"

A familiar, boyish voice that seems to quell your panic speaks up from behind you, standing beside the skeleton monster currently putting your phone down to face towards the new voice. You carefully turn to look over Papyrus' shoulder when you bring your gaze back up, prepared to swallow your tongue in a slightly less painful shock than the shock upon learning Sans' acceptance to make an already bad night worse.

"Alan!" You squeak, not because you're upset to see him or anything, but because it's a welcome surprise after the Sans issue.

His freckles, one of the most prominent features of his face, shift as he offers you a patient smile- right before he glances from Papyrus to Alphys with an oddly observant glint in his eye. He seems pleased to see you with them... You aren't sure how this makes you feel. Either way, he grins at your unwanted companions with that same dazzling smile that always speeds up your heartbeat, ready to greet them.

"What are you lot up to? I'm Alan, one of (Name)'s CIS-1 classmates," he speaks to them immediately with a warm, welcoming expression, which you can see makes Papyrus perk up considerably and prompts Alphys' breath to audibly hitch in awe.

 _He's such a charmer..._ You think, resisting an eye roll and a dreamy smile while Alphys and Papyrus gather their bearings.

"Hello, Sir Human! I am the widely known and undoubtedly handsome, Great Papyrus! At your service every day- except for Spaghetti Sundays!" Papyrus stands up quickly to boast, holding a hand out to your crush who doesn't skip a beat when he takes the skeleton's green gloved hand to give him a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Undoubtedly Handsome Great Papyrus!" Alan greets the much taller skeleton with a cheeky grin, right before glancing over at a panicked looking gold lizard that is now looking towards you with the same mirrored panic you'd been giving her before Alan's appearance. You don't know what to do, and she seems to panic more when she realizes it. Hell, you're still half afflicted by the aftershocks of Sans decision to join your movie night, so of course your thought process is all but screwed the hell up

Clearly Alphys' anxiety has increased threefold without Undyne around to ground her, so in an attempt to keep her from self-combusting into dust (obviously for fear that Undyne will blame you and kill you for her girlfriend's untimely demise), you gently pat Alphys arm reassuringly. She jerks a little when Alan speaks to her, lowering her face demurely.

"And you are?"

At least Alan is observant enough to be able to detect the situation, his voice gentle as he approaches you and Alphys. He lowers himself on his knees and gives Alphys another smile when she peeks up at him.

Alan has a strange, calming effect on a lot of people, which causes everyone to almost always trust and open up to him. It's part of the reason why you like him so much.

"...A-Alphys..." Alphys meekly stutters in reply.  
Alan seems little, if not at all bothered, by her shy voice, taking things in stride with a nod of understanding before looking back over at you. Your back straightens anxiously, and suddenly you feel as if you're sinking back into the same boat as Alphys.

"Gathering movies for a small kick back? Looks like fun, (Name)," he says, making a stupid smile form on your face as you nod in confirmation.

"Absolutely, Sir Human! We are picking three from this generous selection our fourth companion compiled for us! Right now she has left to gather tasty snacks for the night, but she'll be back," Papyrus speaks up in delight, causing Alan's soft brown eyes to widen slightly in surprise before he looks back at all the movies between your group and laughs brightly in amusement.

"Well, at least you're being thorough! Can't blame you for it though- not with those questionable movies like ' _Teeth'_ out there..." Alan sheepishly agrees, rubbing the back of his head as Alphys finally regains a slight foothold on her confidence.

"' _T-Teeth'?_ What is that movie about?" She asks nervously, curiosity fueling her to speak up midst Alan's presence.

Papyrus looks towards you and Alan questioningly for an answer, but all you do is share a look bordering disgust and horror with your fellow human classmate.

" _You don't want to know,"_ you two reply in unison, right before his eyes land on the bracelet around yours, Alphys', and Papyrus' wrists. Yours stands out from the monster's colorful one-day-pass bracelets, which bears black text with your name, and a few other important details you never cared to check out in the time you were stuck with the nice nurse and the hateful doctor.

"Oh my god, (Name), you were in the _hospital?!_ Is that why you missed class last week? What happened to you?" Alan immediately fusses in concern when he takes your wrist in his hands, scanning its contents before looking up at you for a response. His touch sends jolts of electricity up your nerves instantly.

First and foremost, you're both pleased by his concern as well as confused by it. The fact that your physical health worries him makes you all warm inside because it shows he cares. On the other hand though, you can't help but wonder... He's so nice to _everyone_ all of the time. You could just be reading too deeply into things and setting yourself up for disappointment.

Besides, what would a great guy like _him_ see in a shy, racist, nobody like you anyways...?

"O-oh! I can fill you in on what happened!" Alphys suddenly pipes up, before glancing at you and meekly continuing with, "Well, i-if it's okay with (Name)..."

You motion for Alphys to go ahead since she's doing so much better against her anxiety and return your focus back down towards the movies in front of you with Papyrus, who is now harmlessly playing a game of _Scrabble_ on your smartphone. You decide to let him continue playing with your new phone, even though you're still immensely peeved that he managed to convince Sans to join in for the night.

_Ugh, maybe if I'm lucky, he'll be called in for work and will cancel his attendance. I swear, if that could happen, I'd totally be a little nicer to monsters in return._

By the time Alphys has recounted what had happened from her initial finding of you with Undyne, you've already finished sorting and have a pile of rejects to put back. Of course, you stop in your tracks when you hear your crush say your name.

"How did you end up in that situation? Were you just snatched up off the street? Or...?" Alan queries carefully, until you face him and finally break your silence on the whole ordeal. You don't like the idea of repeating it and reliving the whole incident through storytelling, but for Alan, you concede.

"There was this man that stopped me in one of the back alleys I usually take as a shortcut back home. He was wearing a cast on his arm like it was broken and asked if I could help him move some boxes full of textbooks into the trunk of his car..." You end up explaining the gist of things, causing both Alphys and Papyrus to gasp in shock.

"H-he didn't-!" Alphys gapes in utter horror, prompting you to nod sullenly at her when you make note that she's connected the dots before Alan and Papyrus.

"He did. I complied, and as soon as I was leaning in to push one of the boxes to the far back, I was clocked in the head for my sympathy," you finish, only to feel Papyrus stroking the back of your hand sympathetically.

"Oh, Miss Human! You are so kind! To think someone in this world is malicious enough to take advantage of your heart of gold...!" Papyrus coos, prompting you to slightly duck your head and grumble in embarrassment.

Heart of "gold"? More like heart of coal. You only stopped to stall time from entering your empty house again.

"I'm sorry something awful like that happened to you, (Name)... Listen, If you're ever in need of a ride from school that late in the day, give me a ring and I'll come pick you up- no questions asked," Alan declares, grabbing his wallet from his pocket and pulling out a card from one of the slots within.

Surprised at his professionalism, you take the card with curious eyes until you notice it's a business card for his _Uber_ services. Finding it exceptionally fitting for him, you accidentally release a giggle of amusement. It's far more pronounced and bell-like than the giggle you made following Sans' joke on the phone and Papyrus' reaction to it, which rightfully causes both Alphys and Papyrus to look over at you with stunned expressions.

"...What a charming laugh, Miss Human~!" Papyrus eventually cracks with unconcealed delight and excitement, eyes glistening in awe as he stares at you following your laugh.

Alan chuckles at Papyrus statement, but appears unfazed and just smiles kindly at you in response.

Even more surprising is his next action, as he leans carefully over one pile of movies to place his mouth close to your ear to whisper something unexpected. "Or if you need someone to talk to, too."

As he pulls back, he gives you a sympathetic beam. You can't help but stare and watch as he stands up to stretch his muscles, glancing over at the exit before offering Alphys and Papyrus grins.

"It was nice meeting you two, but I'm afraid I have to head on back to the register to work. I was about to go on my lunch break, but when I noticed (Name) here, I just had to come over and say 'hi'. Lunch will have to wait, I guess! Just come on up to the register at the front when you're ready to go," Alan says nicely, managing to drag another smile right out of you.

"Alright. Thanks, Alan," you hear yourself speak up, mentally patting yourself on the back for not tripping over your words like a moron.

"Yes, Sir Human! Thank you very much indeed! Your presence was very much appreciated!" Papyrus blurts out after the return to his game of _Scrabble,_ giving Alan a large smile as you all watch your crush make his way back to his spot at the register with his phone at hand.

 _Why is he so nice? Why isn't_ he _the other person joining us for our horror movie spiel? If at least Alan was coming, it would make my time with the monsters a lot less annoying... But no, it's_ Dumb-bone-dor _who's joining us. Life is so unfair._

"(N-Name)... You look really happy to see him. Are you two as close of friends as you are with L-Libby?" Alphys stutters gently, prompting your cheeks to glow slightly red at her query.

"No. He's just a classmate with a big heart..." You answer her somewhat longingly, in a way that Alphys also manages to catch despite her anxious nature.

"...Do you, um, if I may be so bold to ask... Perhaps...?" While she struggles to get the words out, your own eyes widen and dart over to the skeleton busily grinding his teeth in clear frustration at his game. You know _exactly_ what Alphys is about to ask- you're just unsure how Papyrus will react if he hears that his date has a crush on more than one person (well, in reality, you only like Alan, but since Papyrus is under the impression you like him, you include him in the calculation). You're afraid he'll break down in grief and tell Sans.

And what would Sans' ass do to you? He would keep to his promise of giving you a bad time, no doubt.

What's his definition of a bad time? You'd rather not have to find out the answer to that one...

"HEY, NERDS!"

You have never been happier to have Undyne scream your ear off.

"Ah! Welcome back, Undyne! Good news! Sans has agreed to join us to watch moving pictures and anime!" Papyrus exclaims in excitement you do not reciprocate, and much to your surprise, Undyne rolls her eyes like she doesn't believe the skeleton's boisterous claim.

"Sans is joining us? To watch movies? Please, he's gonna fall asleep after the first five minutes like he usually does when we convince him to tag along. Why would he want to join us no-?" Undyne's eyes land on you, and as they do, her words cut off abruptly. There's a sense of dread in the air as you watch her lips pull back to reveal those intimidating barracuda teeth of hers. What is she thinking? The way she cuts herself off when she sees you almost implies that...

...! Is that bastard only coming because Papyrus made it sound like you didn't want him there? Is Sans joining you guys to get on your bad side some more after he invaded your privacy by breaking into your room and setting whatever the fuck that damned tornado is?!

You face twists in a slight grimace at the realization, but all Undyne does is snort with laughter. Papyrus and Alphys give you questioning looks at the sudden shift of your attitude, but you don't allude to anything as you position your face to look down at the movies you'd sorted through.

"Well, this should be interesting enough. Paps! Alphy! Did we get our movies and anime picked out?" Undyne quickly shifts gears, turning to her friends for the verdict.

"Y-yes! I picked out the best sounding ones. I-I think we'll enjoy these ones. Also, one of them is one even (Name) hasn't seen yet, so that one should be interesting. The rest of the movies need to be put back..."

"Got it. Go pay then," Undyne says, handing Alphys her wallet and placing the bags of snacks and confectionaries beside you while she scoops up the movies into a dangerously swaying tower once more and gets to work quickly putting the movies back in ABC order, running around like a squirrel on steroids.

 _...Maybe I can get some dirt on Sans to prepare myself for tonight,_ you think, taking the chance to clear your voice and take a glance back to see if everyone is busy enough for you to sneak a few tidbits out of Papyrus.

Alphys is shyly engaging with Alan at the front counter, Alan obviously making small talk to break more of the ice between the two. They are both occupied with each other to look over towards you. Undyne is still buzzing around with a hard look of concentration on her face as she puts movies away, like it's a challenge she must conquer at all costs.

This is your chance.

"So... Paps," you can't help but applaud yourself mentally for even sweetening the conversation with Papyrus' nickname. Papyrus immediately straightens and faces you, obviously delighted that _you've_ started the conversation with him this time. "About Sans... What should I be prepared for when I meet him?"

Papyrus looks thrilled as well as exasperated at the same time, but you think the exasperation has to do more with thoughts regarding his brother than your question.

"Sans is the laziest creature to ever grace this universe. He always makes these repetitive puns _all the time!_  ...I suppose, granted, my brother may say a clever one every now and then, but the majority are tasteless! _Tasteless,_ I tell you! Also, he enjoys drinking bottles of ketchup in front of humans to startle them. It's weird!" Papyrus exclaims, side glancing in a way that makes you hold in a snicker of amusement. Who knew skeletons could be more expressive than humans? They don't even have muscles!

"That does sound weird... So I shouldn't be surprised if he tries to weird me out by drinking ketchup and I should ignore his puns and in no way encourage him to keep making more," you repeat with a nod as you store the information away for later. "Anything else?"

"Nyeeh... Oh, when you meet him, do not shake his hand if he offers it to you. And keep in mind that you must sit down carefully because he likes putting aggravating whoopee cushions just as people sit down. Those are the only tips I have for you, Miss Human, but as long as you follow those warnings, he will not trick you!" Papyrus exclaims, grinning at his advice while you sit there and reach up to mindlessly start twirling some of your hair around your fingers out of boredom.

"Alright. Thanks, Paps," you end the conversation, just as Undyne returns to the two of you and makes gestures to get you standing.

"Come on, let's get busy! We’ve got a few hours to kill, what’s the plan till six?” Undyne speaks as Alphys joins you guys with a bag containing the rented movies and anime, the gold lizard looking up in thought.

Curious about Alan, you risk a glance back over at the front desk now that you have the chance. As your eyes land on his figure, he suddenly turns his head to focus on something in the computer before him. You stop your eyes from widening and return your gaze to the monsters as they go over a few ideas together. You’re not sure if it’s your imagination playing tricks on your or if you really saw it, but… Is Alan looking away because you caught him staring in your direction? And if he was staring over here, who was he looking at?

You can't help but look over at Undyne in thought.

“Heck yeah, then it’s decided!” Undyne howls with an upbeat energy that startles you from thinking about Alan any longer. Confusion is etched across your face as you stare at your group, trying to figure out what was apparently decided in the time you weren’t paying attention. At your expression, Undyne just rolls her eyes and throws an arm over your shoulders, steering you towards the exit ahead of Papyrus and Alphys, handing you one of only four plastic bags containing movie snacks and food while the other two monsters follow behind closely.

“You’ll just have to wait and see since you were too busy making goo-goo eyes at that guy over there, huh, (Name)?” She laughs loudly, causing your cheeks to lightly dust red since you know Alan can probably hear what she’s saying and because you'd been caught in the act.

If you had the choice between being embarrassed like that for the rest of your life or meeting Sans just once, you'd choose lifelong humiliation.

Too bad you're apparently going to get both.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might attempt to do consistent Friday updates, but I wanted to get this chapter out at least for now.
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	10. The Second Skele-bro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You finally meet Sans- and it's just as bad as you imagined it would be.

Chapter 10: The Second Skele-bro

Your first instinct upon seeing the snug house belonging to Undyne and Alphys is to sink deeper into the crack of the backseat, nails arched so they sink into the fabric of the car's interior. Your mouth feels as dry as stale bread, and your stomach is a mess of discomfort, anxiety, and what feels like heartburn. Sans could already be in there: it’s 6:12 pm and your group had been speeding down the street from the park to get back on time.

Yes, your monster captors had decided to waste their time messing around at the park to play a little bit of _kickball_. Turns out (and it’s not surprising in the least) that Undyne is quite the sports fanatic. Well, at least a fanatic to play _her_ version of sports, which ended up involving playing a mixture of kick ball, and dodge ball all in one.

Dodge ball wasn’t actually meant to be part of the game, but with the way Undyne slams her foot against the soccer balls, you and Alphys were pressed to run for your lives rather than try catching it to get her out. You're pretty athletic since you've been taking gymnastics, and your flexibility is as legendary as that of Russian contortionist Zlata (though not broadcasted due to an incident during your childhood that led to your self-consciousness of the talent), so you're in no way out of shape.

You've just never seen such a destructive kicker as Undyne, and unlike humans, Undyne truly kicks _like a monster._

More than once, you had dashed behind Papyrus for protection and let him catch the ball, which he (surprisingly) always caught with merely a grunt and a jerk of his bone body. After so many close calls with Undyne’s kicked soccer balls making a curve in the direction of your head, you deduced that she was totally aiming for you on purpose, approached her about it, and stomped back to your position on the field with grinding teeth when she just shrugged innocently with a dumb, “I’m _whaat?_ Naahh, that ain’t me.”

 _Nnaaah, that’s_ totally _freaking you!_ You'd screeched in the back of your mind furiously.

Thankfully, Papyrus really had made an effort to protect you, even doing so much as to try and convince Undyne to take it easy with her death-inducing kicks. Her answer?

She’d made an audibly meaningless apology, grabbed you by your shoulders, and gave you such a rough noogie that you were still seeing stars _now,_ a good twelve minutes later following you pointing out the late hour to escape certain death by suggesting your fish-faced captive to start driving to her place.

While taking a few deep breaths of relief, Alphys apologized in her girlfriend’s stead. That time, you had no trouble giving her a nasty look of disbelief. When she flinched at your expression, you almost felt guilty, but squashed your empathy before you could convince yourself to apologize to a creature of her caliber.

Undyne wasn't blind to this, but rather than defensively snapping at you, she just reached over and dragged Alphys to her side protectively, muttering something in her girlfriend's ear. Whatever it was had quelled the golden lizard monster's anxiety, and she was soon smiling at you again.

_Whatever._

"Miss Human! You worry me with how often you are zoning out!" Papyrus loud voice claims, snapping you out of your thoughts when you find him leaning in close to unbuckle your seatbelt a second time that day. You don't blush this time, but to keep up the image that you enjoy being around his boisterous, happy ass, you take his offered gloved hand and allow him to help you out of Undyne's truck.

For a moment, as you step down beside him, a thought flashes in your mind and you look down at your feet curiously. It's an odd thought, but for some reason, the way he helps you down reminds you momentarily of how a Disney Princess is treated. Your cheeks soon fire up like last time, but you carefully avoid everyone's gaze in order to hide it.

"Woo! Party time! Paps, let's get in there and make some spaghetti!" Undyne howls, snatching Papyrus' and Alphys' wrists and dragging them up to the front door of the two story house- which in turn leaves you being dragged along behind Papyrus when his hand grabs hold of yours once more.

You wrinkle your nose in annoyance, but begrudgingly let him hold on. Better to not upset Papyrus now more than ever before- especially if you're going to be in his stupid brother's presence.

Once the four of you are at the front door, Alphys fumbles about with her purse until she produces the necessary key past all her screwdrivers and the cell phone within. The fluids in your belly swirl as you watch her unlock the door and open it up.

...?

There's nobody inside.

"Whelp, Sans isn't here yet. Can't say I'm surprised. Let's get to work, Papy!" Undyne shouts, releasing Alphys to purposefully swerve in front of you and Papyrus. Next thing you know, she grabs your linked hands and parts them roughly enough to pop a few bones in your hand. Your poker face wavers at the pain, but rather than appear weak in front of the female monster, you wait until she's vanished with Papyrus into the kitchen to rub your hand. "(NAME)! ALPHYS! Pick what order we're watching the movies!"

You and Alphys are left to your devices, Undyne having taken all the snack bags and leaving Alphys with just the bag of movies and anime.

"U-um... Alright!" Alphys manages to agree, turning to face you and give you a reassuring smile. She looks a little nervous to be with you since you gave her that nasty glare before.

At that, you relent to your guilt and shift your eyes towards the living room, avoiding her gaze in your moment of weakness. Only this once will you do it- you're never going to apologize to them again after this. You promise yourself that much...

"Sorry," you mumble, loud enough to make Alphys look over at you in surprise. You glance back at her and meet her gaze, only then noticing that she's about the same short height as you. She stares at you like she's heard a ghost, so you repeat yourself. "I'm sorry for upsetting you back at the park."

She blinks, but you can see her body relaxing all at once. Alphys definitely heard you this time, and her eyes light up again just as before. You look away before you are bewitched into giving any more sympathy to her.

"...Th-that's okay! Um, I mean, uh... Thanks, I accept y-your apology," she squeaks towards the end of her sentence, looking down quickly at the bag of movies and reaching up to fix her glasses. "...So, which movie do you think we should watch first?"

She produces three boxes, two DVDs and one Blu-Ray. With a quick glance, you read off the names of the movies to yourself.

_Drag me to Hell, Insidious, and Zombie Land._

You reorder the movies from _comedy_ -horror to _horror_ -horror in your hands and present them to Alphys. "Level one, level two, or level three?" You ask her, watching her eyes flick down to the presented movies.

"U-um... O-one! I'm not ready to handle level three yet...!" She admits sheepishly, pulling at the front of her top nervously. She looks embarrassed... But you don't think less of her for choosing level one first. You already think pretty low of her to being with anyways, but more than that, you're used to someone not liking super scary movies like you do. After all, Libby _hates_ scary movies.

You hand her _Zombie Land_ to start the night off with, and she takes it with a clumsy hand, brushing a softly filed claw against your index finger before pulling away to turn on the giant flat screen in their comfy living room.

From the doorway, there is a short wall to the right where you can see the top of Undyne's head and the entirety of Papyrus's face in the kitchen, where they are completely focused on cooking whatever kind of spaghetti they're making that involves throwing things and moving around so quickly. To the left is the living room, containing a long as hell couch against the back wall that curves out into a box shape around the perimeter of the living room. In the middle, there is a coffee table, but before you can move to join Alphys around it, Undyne races out of the kitchen and grabs the fancy wooden coffee table, hauling it over her head and shooting you a smirk before she runs down the hall leading to a couple of rooms you can't make out from where you stand.

When she returns, she makes a beeline back into the kitchen.

"YEAH, PAPS! Punch them like ya' mean it! WOO!" She laughs loudly, leaving you staring in her wake until you hear Papyrus shouting along with, “NYEH! BEND TO THE WILL OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ROSY VEGETABLE OF THE EARTH!”

You let out a sigh and walk around the couch toward the corner farthest from the front door, rubbing your arms at the cool temperature of Alphys’ home as you walk. It’s warm outside at this time of year, however, Undyne and Alphys most likely have amped up the air conditioning to avoid overheating. Needless to say, as a human mostly made up of water, this amount of chill makes you shiver considerably.

“Miss Human, you are shivering!” Papyrus announces, appearing from the mouth of the kitchen suddenly. You stop walking, your eyes immediately taking in the small crooked chefs hand taped to his skull and the apron tied around him, coated with a shocking amount of tomato juice and other unidentifiable cooking fluids.

Before you can agree, he is already striding over to the thermos by the wall in Alphys' hallway, turning the dial with a brightly sung, “Must make sure the human is comfy~”

As you see this, you turn to face the TV and lean back to sit and relax…

…?

You stiffen up when you feel something beneath your behind that doesn’t feel like the soft suede couch you’d been prepared for. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion and you shift a bit, getting a feel of what you’re sitting on that is jutting into the sensitive skin of your thighs and ass. It feels like you’ve sat on a pile of freaking sticks, are there springs in this cheap couch or…?

You hear a gasp and look up to see Alphys gaping in your direction, face paler than it had been back during kickball at the park when Undyne sent the first ball hurling straight towards your head.

Needless to say, you are perplexed by her expression… That is, until you feel something warm rest on either side of your...?

…?!

 _Are those FUCKING fingers I feel on my hips?_ You suddenly realize, finally doing what you should have done in the first place and turning to look back at the couch.

Your colored irises meet hollow black sockets with a darkness in each hole that makes your entire body shiver involuntarily. There is an uncanny _emptiness_ that rattles your nerves into fight or flight mode, but rather than do either, all you can do is blanch and stare in absolute fear. You’re not as scared as you’d been back when that maniac had tossed you into the back of his _Fiat_ for indeterminable reasons, but pretty damn close to it.

You can’t move. Your body refuses to obey.

The hands on your hips tighten to a moderately firm grip that kind of hurts, and you wince slightly. The phalanges of the hands are hard like the cartilage of your nose and ears in comparison to the flesh covering your hip bones, and they dig in with little mercy as you stare frozen at their owner.

_“OFF.”_

The word is growled from a familiar deep voice that rumbles lowly, _dangerously,_ from the monster beneath you that is _obviously_ a not-too-pleased skeleton.

 _Oh, shit,_ you realize after you hear his voice and connect the dots.

As if burned, you jump off of the skeleton’s lap and relocate beside Alphys automatically, finding security beside the _better_ monster in the vicinity.

 _“Sorry!”_ You blurt out automatically in the loudest volume you’ve ever achieved with your reserved, prickly nature, once again startling Alphys from the intensity.

In a snap, the skeleton, the one you KNOW is _Sans,_ blinks in clear surprise. Small white circular lights appear within the dark recesses of each eye socket, and you yourself express shock when you see the malleable way the bone of his face, specifically over each eye, moves to mimic a blinking action.

After a moment of absorbing the shock of his presence, you realize what you’ve just done. You’ve just gone and apologized to the _least deserving_ monster in the vicinity. You quickly try to regain a foothold on your mistake.

“Wait, _no I’m not!”_ You shout again, jutting your index finger at him accusingly.

…

Sans continues to stare at you quietly, his left brow bone rising slightly in an arch as his only reaction to your words. There is what seems to be an ever present small grin of displayed teeth that serves as his mouth, and you catch the twitch at the corner that threatens to widen in amusement.

When you notice this, you mentally revise your words… And immediately notice how weird your statement sounds. So what, you’re _not_ sorry for sitting on _his lap?_

“No, wait, that’s not…! I-I mean…!” You stammer uselessly, face suddenly glowing an embarrassing red that makes you suddenly self conscious of the monsters around you.

_Oh fuck, Alphys is staring, Sans is staring… I can feel Undyne and Papyrus staring…!_

You fall silent with a small fading grumble, narrowing your eyes back down at your feet in hopes that maybe there is a god out there merciful enough to strike you with thunder and release you from the embarrassment of the situation.

You hear Undyne’s breathing shake- like she’s trying her damned hardest not to laugh, but other than that, everyone else is as quiet as a mouse.

…

“Heh,” Sans breathes (skeletons breathing, now _that’s_ a laugh), leaning forward to stand up to a height that's much closer to yours and Alphys' rather than his brother's and Undyne's.

Your gaze flicks back up to eye his attire, which consists of a cerulean blue zip up sweater, opened to reveal a mildly stained white tee, and some black basketball shorts with a white stripe going down the sides. On each foot he wears crooked white socks and what appears to be fuzzy pink slippers, which look practically brand new in comparison to the rest of his clothing.

When Sans looks back up at you, you freeze again. He makes you feel anxious… Probably because he threatened you to be nice to his brother? Yeah, that’s probably got to be the reason why you feel so sick to your stomach.

It’s hard to keep yourself from quivering as Sans walks up to you, hands buried in each pocket until he is directly in front of you.

He moves one hand out of his jacket and your body flinches reflexively. At the notice, he slows down a bit and carefully holds his skeletal hand out to you. You’re… actually kind of surprised that he’s trying _not_ to startle you anymore. Honestly, after his texts and that call from before, you were sure he would _jump_ at the idea of making you uncomfortable. Is this the same skeleton you were talking to on the phone?

“Nice to finally meet you face to face, _‘Miss Human’,”_ he emphasizes your nickname, voice dipping lower as he says it. You look down at his hand curiously, and start to reach out to it, eyeing the bone of his phalanges that were gripping your hips painfully only moments prior. They felt like cartilage before, but if you felt his hands with your own fingers then…? “The name’s Sans. Sans the skeleton. Though I’m sure you already knew that much.”

You’re finger is just about to brush his when you notice movement out of the corner of your eye from Papyrus' direction. Almost immediately, flashbacks to your conversation at _Redbox_ are brought to your attention at the forefront of your mind. You pull your hand back and cross your arms, biting gently on the flesh of your inner cheeks as you make your next move.

“Charmed,” you reply, watching his expression momentarily go flat with what appears to be annoyance. It flashes by for only a sliver of a second before it’s replaced by a plastic grin as fake as _Malibu Barbie_. You continue with a short, “I’m (Name).”

Everyone falls silent again, leaving you inhaling the air of…? Something burning?

“…H-hey, guys? What’s that smell?” Alphys is the first to quietly break the silence with her meek voice, causing everyone else to join you in sniffing the air.

You look away from the second skeleton (the one still eyeing you in suspicion) to turn your gaze towards the kitchen. Undyne is already running in there, a shrill garble of panic as she gestures for Papyrus to follow. Said tall skeleton gives you a bright thumbs up as he runs after Undyne, only to make a squawk of horror upon entry that has Alphys trailing after him. The yellow scaled monster looks back at you several times in concern, but she vanishes into the kitchen soon enough as well.

You just a raise an eyebrow after them, turning back to regard Sans-

-And finding him inches away, staring at you with those hollow black holes once again. You’re surprised, but you don’t flinch away this time. After whatever has Undyne and Papyrus running back into the kitchen for, you’re pretty much somewhat relaxed. You’ve already deduced that his eyelights vanish when he’s trying to intimidate you, so you stare back at him quietly and wait until he’s done.

Upon noticing your flat stare, his eyelights return and he makes a low noise in the back of his… Er, throat? It sure _sounds_ like it’s coming from his neck, even though that makes no sense since it's literally just a spine where his throat should be. Is he threatening you again? Either way, by the look on his face, it's obvious that he doesn't like you one bit.

"Alright, sweet tart. I'm willin' to try and get along with you for Pap's sake. Just as long as you behave yourself and hold your tongue about how much you hate monsters to my pals over there. Be civil, and sooner or later they'll get bored and you can return to your mundane, uninteresting human life," Sans speaks up in disinterested sounding tone, making your expression drop into a deadpan flatter than tissue paper.

"I already told Alphys and Undyne. Can't you see how _excited_ I am to be here?" You sarcastically comment, only to feel a jolt of immediate regret when Sans' expression flickers back to that hollow-eyed glare. You flinch, but stand your ground again. He may be scary, but that doesn't mean he's allowed to bully you with it. You wouldn't let him get to you, especially now that you know what he looks like.

 _"Let's start with removing that attitude right there,"_ he lowly growls, and despite your desire to stand up against him, you still back away an inch when he leans forwards towards you. He pulls back as soon as he sees this, a relaxed smile of satisfaction etched on his skeletal face. "...At least you aren't physically dangerous. You look like you'd be easy to take care of if things get outta hand."

You move backwards another step, only to feel your insides twist in discomfort when you notice him advance a step closer in return. He has _pink fluffy slippers,_ you're going to let someone wearing _something like that_ intimidate you?!

"Somehow... I sort 'a hope you decide to do something. _I haven't dunked on anyone in a long time,"_ he speaks with that dangerous voice again, but his eyelights return- this time with his left eye flashing a bright bluish-gold ring.

 _This is... This is ridiculous... I'm not scared of him,_ you insist to yourself.

The backs of your calves hit the sofa and you lose your balance and sit land right in your seat, giving Sans the perfect opportunity to slap both of his bony hands on either side of the backrest. He leans in towards where you sit, his single blue eyelight and his regular white eyelight piercing into the depths of your being... Your _soul_ practically.

Just when you think he's actually about to hurt you unprovoked, he yanks himself away from you with a smug grin.

"I knew you had no **spine** to you. Well, at least not a spine like mine," he jokes, personality shifting so quickly that you can barely contain your disbelief. He just laughs lazily at your bewildered expression. "Any wider and your jaw will fall right off."

You quickly snap your mouth shut when he mentions this, giving him a quick unsavory glare before you look away from him and cross your arms in defiance.

"Heh, Libbs never mentioned how pathetic you were. It's almost adorable in a sort of sad way." You look back over at him in clear offense, watching his shoulders shake as he stares down at you. Infuriated, humiliated, and overall completely annoyed, you shoot up to your feet immediately. Your temper has taken over once again and that meek side of you is violently getting shoved out of the way.

 _"I'm_ the pathetic one? You're just a _literal_ pile of useless bones antagonizing me for something _I haven't even done yet!_ And furthermore-" You gesture furiously down to his feet, where he follows your gaze to stare at his pink slippers and wiggle his socked toe bones inside of them. _"What are those?!"_

He looks back up at you after a moment, staring quietly until his teeth visibly clench in an attempt to...?

…Is he laughing or crying?

You revise your words a second time that night, and once again, you have uttered something that completely invalidates your attempts to be as intimidating as him. First the lap sitting shit, now this accidental shoe meme statement? Someone above with a lot of power must really enjoy seeing you like this...

Your hand snaps up to make one of the loudest face palms you've ever had the desire to conjure, and rather than look at Sans again, you concede defeat and sit back down on the sofa- allowing yourself to sink into the suede as you place your other hand over your face as well. Maybe if you can't see him, he will go bother his friends instead. Maybe if you can't see him, you won't feel so much shame hitting you at once.

"If you're wonderin', I'm still here."

You let out a depressed groan at this.

"...And I'm still laughing."

Insert another groan here, only twice as depressed as the last.

_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him- I knew meeting him was a bad idea. Why didn't I try harder to stop Papyrus from inviting him?_

"...SANS! What have you done to the human?! Did you break her?!" You hear Papyrus shout from the entrance to the kitchen, making you look up, jump off the sofa, and scurry in the tall skeleton's direction for security.

Papyrus is covered in, if possible, even _more_ tomato sauce and other fluids than before, but rather than eye him with distaste, you throw your arms around him in a warm hug you are only ever known to give Libby. You don't have to look up to see the surprise written across Papyrus' face, his body stiffening is all you need to get the message.

 _Alright. Sans thinks he can try and bully me when the others aren't looking? He isn't the only clever one around here!_ You think smugly as you hug Papyrus.

You let go after taking a deep breath, pulling away to look up at Papyrus with the most despondent expression of relief as you meet his waiting gaze. He looks even more surprised when he sees your face, and leans down closer to your level to listen to what you have to say.

"Miss human? What is wrong?" He asks gently, his green gloves resting on either of your forearms in an attempt to comfort you with contact.

You pout and then look back at Sans in the living room, who _actually_ looks a tad bit guilty when he sees the look on your face. Seconds later though, he seems to have an idea of what you're about to do, and his eyes flash with panic.

 _He thinks I'm going to tattle on him,_ you think to yourself, taking a moment to enjoy his expression before...

Your finger points over at Sans and you look back at Papyrus with your sad pout of dejection.

"Sans was harassing me with _puns!"_ You accuse wholeheartedly, watching a look of comical rage pass over Papyrus face. You turn back to see what Sans' expression is, only to find that his shock has taken precedence over any fear or panic he once had. Obviously he didn't expect you to do _that_.

"SANS! You _promised!"_ Papyrus sounds so betrayed as he brings you in for another hug, moments before you (much to your unexpected horror) find yourself scooped up bridal style in the tall skeleton's arms.

"Paps, I wasn't-" Sans tries to plead his case, but by the look on Papyrus face from above you, the boisterous skeleton isn't having it.

"Do not test my patience, Brother! I _will_ evict you from this household if you refuse to stick to the conditions of your invitation!”

Papyrus falls silent, visibly waiting for Sans to answer him with a funny stern expression nailed to his face. You let your eyes go back to the shorter skeleton, who looks miffed by the results of your false accusations. Instead of shooting you a glare though, his body relaxes and he plops down on the spot of the couch you once sat on. The lazy grin you’ve started to familiarize with forms on his face as he looks at Papyrus.

You can already tell how much he cares for his taller brother, just by the way he relents to the scolding with the eased smile on his face.

“Sure thing. My bad, bro,” Sans answers, receiving a firm nod from Papyrus.

“Yes, ‘your bad' indeed! Now, Miss Human…” Papyrus speaks, making you tear your gaze from Sans to look up at him. “Let us go exchange these dirty rags for cleaner pieces of clothing!”

Suddenly, someone shoots out of the kitchen and before you can register what’s going on- you quickly find yourself in the arms of Undyne. Your body locks up in sheer terror when you remember that she’s here and has most likely seen everything that happened between you and Sans.

She’s going to totally use that as verbal ammo on you…!

 _Fuck!_ You shout in your head, refusing to hook your arms around her neck like you had done when Papyrus was the one carrying you. Your eyes are wide as she cackles down at your expression, causing you to shiver violently in her arms.

There’s no escape!

“She can change in my room! C’mon, (Name), let’s go getcha _nay-kedd!”_ Undyne howls before charging down the hall with you to the furthest room back, grabbing hold of your overnight bag on the way. In the back of your mind, you can’t help but wonder how Alphys' feels about Undyne shouting such a thing- especially since they’re in a relationship together.

Undyne enters the master bedroom (you assume) of the house and promptly drops you unceremoniously on the ground, eliciting a sharp squeak when you conveniently land on the still-healing knife wound from your lower back. When she notices your dark glare, she gives you a sheepish grin.

“Oh, whoops. Forgot about that. Anyways…” Undyne takes a seat on the floor after locking the door, crossing her legs and grinning at you so brightly that you’re afraid her mouth will split entirely in half. “So I’m assuming you and Sans don’t get along? Seriously, the look on his face when Papyrus looked away from him- he looked like he wanted to _dunk_ on you or some shit like that.”

You meet her gaze reluctantly, despite the throbbing of your lower backside. “He-“ You start to say, but Undyne just waves you off with a knowing smile.

“I know, I know what he did. He always does this with humans he doesn’t know. Especially when said humanx is hanging around his _brother_. It’s only a warning, so don’t take it much to heart. I know you won’t hurt Paps- _even_ if you _do_ try to convince me you’re capable of hurting a monster,” Undyne chuckles, only pausing when she sees the uncomfortable expression on your face. “…You’re okay, right? He… He actually scared you, didn’t he?”

You curl up into yourself a little more in embarrassment, waiting for Undyne to start laughing and humiliating you even more.

“…(Name), you can sit on the blankets between Alphys and I when we watch the movies, alright? If you ever feel scared because of Sans, let one of us know and we’ll get him to knock it off," Undyne says, bending down to your seated spot on the floor so that you're forced to make eye contact with her. The sincerity flowing from her voice hits you all at once, and you find yourself unable to tear your gaze away from her serious expression.

She's not joking.

...

"You don't have to stare at me like _that_ you nerd!" She suddenly bursts out laughing after a second of you staring at her in slight awe, the fish woman tossing some kind of fabric over your head that makes you squirm around in surprise until you manage to pull off what you find are just your pajamas. "Change and come back out when you're ready. Might wanna hurry too, 'cause I'd hate for Sans to worm his way in here thinking you're setting up traps to murder Alphys and I."

You blanch at her words and immediately stand up, tossing your old clothes off despite Undyne's lingering presence as she opens the door and exits with a click of the door knob- cackling to herself like you're the funniest person in the world.

Once you've managed to wrestle your light pink and black polka dotted ruffled sleep tank and black fuzzy pants on, you exit the room briskly. Your eyes dart in every direction as you walk down the hallway, causing you to grimace in distaste. Despite Undyne's assurances to your safety, you don't feel safe whatsoever...

Frankly, you feel like you're walking straight into the jaws of an alligator with just your fingers crossed for protection.

You turn the corner to find everyone sitting in front of the TV, resisting the urge to look towards Sans out of anxiety. Due to wearing such 'cutsie' pajamas and not _regular_ clothing, you feel even more vulnerable. Had you known Sans would be here, you'd have at least picked some pajamas that covered your shoulders and collar a little more...

For now though, this is just going to have to do.

"Hungry?" Undyne inquires as you walk on over, noting the paused title screen of the movie as Alphys shifts aside to allow you to sit on the blankets and mattress that has been laid out on the floor in front of their sofa, holding two plates of what looks to be spaghetti in her clawed lizard hands. As soon as you situate yourself beside Alphys, one plate of spaghetti is handed over to you. To be completely honest, you're _famished..._

You take hold of the plate with a meek _'thank you'_ , taking hold of the fork knotted in a bundle of sauce covered spaghetti. It isn't until you spear a small bite-sized meatball that you pause when you notice the piercing silence around you. The TV hasn't been set to play yet, and in your confusion, you turn your head to look at Undyne and Alphys.

They're both staring at you, Undyne clearly trying to send you some kind of message with her visible yellow eye that you don't quite understand. Her golden orb continues to flick back and forth towards you and the couch behind you, where you know Papyrus and Sans to be sitting (unfortunately, Sans is the one directly behind you and his fuzzy pink slipper keeps brushing against your bicep much to your annoyance).

Undyne and Alphys continue to stare intensely at you... And you can't figure out why no matter how much you squint at them contemplatively. Eventually, you just give up and lift your fork up towards your mouth.

"Weird..." You say to them with a wrinkle of your nose, just before opening your mouth and putting the bundle of pasta and meat in your mouth. As soon as you do, you notice Undyne and Alphys stiffen up in apprehension. They look as if you've just bitten into a chunk of rotting flesh- what's wrong with them?

You chew up the tasty spaghetti and swallow without much hassle, only to feel the tension in the room drop when you quietly twirl another bundle of pasta around your fork and bring it up to your hungry mouth. Sans' slipper twitches against your arm suddenly, causing you to violently flinch much to your embarrassment. Despite your anxiety and the equally startling sound of metal hitting ceramic as you fumble with your fork, you automatically turn to give him your attention- if only because you're scared he'll hurt you if you try to ignore him.

You _were_ feeling mildly settled after Undyne dragged you off to change your clothes, and when you rejoined everyone at first you were somewhat okay... But making eye contact with Sans again is only another foul reminder that you're currently in the presence of someone that _actually_ might want to hurt you for your anti-monster beliefs.

It's obvious you're incredibly jumpy and uncomfortable, but Sans doesn't seem at all concerned as he gives you a wink with his right eye and nods at your plate of spaghetti. "My bro made it with Undyne. How's it taste to you?" He asks, gaze lingering and sending you a message you can only interpret as:

_You'd better give the spaghetti a good praise, 'cause you're dead if you hurt my bro's feelings._

"It's delicious..." You say softly in discomfort, slightly scooting away from his slipper and darting your gaze back down to your plate.

All of a sudden, you don't feel all that hungry anymore... But you force yourself to keep eating since you don't want to seem like a hypocrite and risk getting attacked.

You do not feel safe _one bit._

And hell, maybe you're starting to get used to Undyne and Alphys… Papyrus is kind of annoying, but tolerable… Sans though? You’re sure you’ll _never_ get used to him. Not if he’s always going to threaten you when he's around.

“Is it really?!” Papyrus blurts out, making you flinch again. Your gaze jumps to the taller skeleton, where you see a sheepish expression forming on his face as you force your nerves to relax a bit. “I mean- Of course it is! After all, it was made by _I,_ the Great Papyrus!”

“Alright, alright, Miss Weirdo rated Paps' spaghetti. Let’s start the movie then!” Undyne quickly blurts out after a second, pointing at Alphys and making her fumble with the movie player remote until she hits the ‘play’s button.

A lamp from behind you is switched off with a click, though you're not sure how since nobody has moved from their places since you've sat down. Forcing yourself to take another bite of spaghetti, you chalk it up to simply being monster magic and shift your attention towards the TV.

For a while, you continue to flick back and forth from watching the movie to getting lost in your thoughts. You've missed some precious studying time because of getting kidnapped- both by your hostile attacker as well as the friendly-yet-annoying Undyne. Also, you still have to punch in Alan's number from the business card he gave you and return some books to the school library.

 _Ugh, there's so much I have to do! I shouldn't have let them force me into this sleepover... Even on the off chance Undyne actually decided to attack me for rejecting her 'BFF' bonding idea,_ you think in frustration, reaching up to push some hair behind your ear as you eat some more spaghetti.

Slowly but surely with the movie soon coming to a close, your appetite is returning and the crazy large serving of spaghetti given to you is looking twice as welcoming now than befo-

...?

You put your fork down and pull out a series of small purple colored particles from atop the bundle of spaghetti on your fork, eyeing them with interest as you bring it closer to your face... and eventually come to realize what it is.

It's _glitter._

Papyrus decided to feed you and the other monsters... Glitter.

...

Sans might get angry if you don't continue eating. You have to keep Papyrus happy, or else you're in for trouble.

You wipe your finger on your nearby napkin and pick your fork back up. This might come back to bite you in the ass later, but for now? You have no other choice.

Sans scares you enough to make you far more willing to ingest something as inedible and possibly harmful as glitter.

_...At least the TV is a distraction from-_

No less than moments after that thought, your nerves spring to an all new high when you feel an odd feeling along your back. It's no itch or anything, nor is it pain from your regularly throbbing wound... The only way you can describe the feeling is as if someone is using their middle and index fingers to 'walk' up your spine with their fingertips.

Now, you're sitting with your back leaned against the couch behind you, so someone messing with you like that should _not_ be possible... Furthermore, from what you can see, Undyne and Alphys are completely relaxed on either side of you, slowly taking bites of their spaghetti while immersed in the scenes of _Zombie Land._

You can see Papyrus half leaning forward from his seat on the couch, eating his own spaghetti (where the hell is it going, he doesn't have a stomach...?) and just as hypnotized by the television. Which leaves...

You shift in discomfort when the fingers slow down around a sensitive spot along the middle portion of your spine, one digit making a point to painfully press into the spot with little to no mercy. Your face remains to appear indifferent as you watch the television- not for the movie itself, but for the reflection of Sans at the corner of the screen when a portion of the color from the film goes black with the nighttime setting of the scene. You're curious to see what he's doing and if he's the cause of the strange pain along your spine.

Much to your surprise, he seems to already be staring at you, and the moment you make eye contact, your expression shifts into surprise. For a second, you are unable to swallow the mouthful of spaghetti in your mouth as you stiffen under his gaze. There's a strand of pasta poking out from the corner of your mouth, and you quickly pull it into your mouth upon eye contact.

He gives you a slow, deliberate wink with his right eye and the digit pressing painfully into your spine eases back before going back into that finger walk, travelling up your spine before it presses again- even _harder-_ into the sensitive bone at the base of your neck.

You slightly wince, ducking your head so that the loose hair around your face conceals your expression yet again. In an attempt to pretend that you are okay, you take the moment to fork another bundle of pasta and eat. Honestly, the pasta is the only _good_ thing about this fiasco, and you don't want to tell Undyne or Alphys and risk looking like an idiot if Sans decides to play dumb.

The painful pressure moves to press against your throat when you go to swallow, but rather than hesitate, you just force the food down faster before it can get too painful.

 _What is his problem?! I'm not even doing anything right now- he has no right to torment me like this!_ _Is this_ fun _for him? I may not like monsters, but even_ I'm _not cruel enough to go out of my way to harass them!_ You think, taking another bite of spaghetti when the pressure moves to your back again, repeating the annoying 'walking' up your spinal cord. _I won't let him get to me. I refuse to show him anymore of my weakness._

You hiccup to a strange jerk in your chest, causing you to put your fork down and straighten up to touch in the general area of your thorax. What was that? It almost feels like the kind of jolt you get when accidentally touching the metal of a plug that's halfway in an outlet...

The movie is just nearing to its credit as you concentrate on the strange feeling you'd felt, only to soon notice the lack of anymore pressure or 'walking' fingers along your back. Did... Did Sans give up? What happened?

You look up at the television, but instead of meeting your gaze, Sans is visibly glaring at the back of your head in the TV's reflection. His expression is a mixture of surprise and frustration, causing you to quickly dart your eyes back down to your spaghetti in case he catches you watching.

You're not sure what happened right there, but... At least Sans has stopped harassing you as a result. Which is more than you can ask for in such a situation.

"HA! That movie was freaking _hilarious!_ Although, seeing how humans look when they're ripped apart _is_ kind of gross and stuff... Man, and to think I was expected to do something like _that_ to a human back when I was part of the Royal Guard!" Undyne speaks up once the credits are rolling, her sharp voice snapping you out of your thoughts and reminding you that you aren't alone with Sans at the moment.

Despite her being a monster, you feel a smidgen safer to know she's around...

 _"Nyeh!_ Are humans _really_ that goopy and wet on the inside?!" Papyrus asks from behind Undyne on the couch with a tone of absolute horror.

All eyes fly up to the skeleton at the sound of his voice, where you find him cringing on the sofa a foot or so away from his brother. He has his knees pulled up to his chest and holds them close with his arms so tightly that you're afraid he will snap his legs in half with his visible quivering tension. When Papyrus seems to notice you all gazing at him, he visibly releases his legs and takes on a relaxed posture, clearing his throat sheepishly.

"I mean, The Great Papyrus is just concerned about Miss Human's and Pretty Human's sake! For they too are _also_ human! And I would be distraught to learn if I caused one of their soft, fragile human bodies to... To pop," Papyrus finishes awkwardly, his skeletal face growing slightly gray with an expression of disgust. He seems to crumble up again where he sits, making a slight ' _nyeh'_ of discomfort before looking down at you.

You don't expect Papyrus to suddenly lunge down and hook his arms under yours, causing you to stiffen up with your plate of spaghetti still at hand as you are dragged up on the sofa between him and Sans. Before you've realized what has happened, Papyrus pulls you against him like a doll, bones radiating a strange warmth that unnerves you since he's all bones and lacks flesh like a human.

To your left, Sans eye lights flick over towards the two of you with a repressed expression you can't quite put your finger on. Either way, you seem to realize that having to pry you away from Papyrus immediately changes the situation, and now you have no escape from sitting beside Sans. If Alphys and Undyne try to get you seated back between them, Papyrus will be upset.

And then Sans will be upset too.

And _then_ you'll have a _very_ bad time.

"Hey, we had her first!" Undyne objects quickly, though when you give her small shake of your head, she seems to realize that you're going to take the punch and roll with it. She gets comfortable again and wrinkles her face slightly- as if she's not sure she wants to leave you next to the source of your discomfort since you first walked in.

"I'm just borrowing the human! You will eventually have her back! ...Someday," Papyrus says jokingly, even though his expression is that of stress and he has a bit of sweat collecting atop his skull. Weird... Monsters can _sweat?_ Even though they aren't made of water? ...Is it more inexplicable magic? Probably.

You don't like that you've suddenly been forced to sit next to Sans, but at least the way Papyrus is holding you cages you away from Sans a bit. It's a crappy trade off, but hopefully this change in seating discourages him from using anymore magic to harass you. After all, Papyrus _will_ notice...

Nearly two hours later and you're still trapped in Papyrus' arms. There haven't been any annoying or painful pokes on Sans' part, and despite the initial worry that came off of Undyne and Alphys following Papyrus' grab for you from between them, they seem to have relaxed enough to not worry about you beside the tall skeleton and his brother.

"Th-that one was a little scarier than _Zombie Land,_ wasn't it?" Alphys pipes up after the second movie comes to a close, having scooted over towards Undyne close enough that Undyne had thrown her arm over her girlfriends shoulders instinctively once the yellow monster spoke up. You watch with heavy eyelids as the fish monster gives her girlfriend a gentle squeeze, just before standing up to switch the movie after her girlfriend seems to visibly relax.

You're tired. Very, _very_ tired. You wish you could tell Alphys and Undyne how sleepy you are, but with Sans next to you... Turning in early might end up upsetting Papyrus. Why?

Papyrus was _not_ ready for horror movies.

Despite that Papyrus isn't hugging you _tightly_ per say (out of fear that you'll have the 'life water' squeezed out of you), contact with him is making you aggravated and grumpy. You hate having to be the only source of comfort for the bony skeleton, and the heat coming off of his bones doesn't help keep you awake whatsoever.

The third movie, the one you have yet to see called _Insidious_ , is being inserted into the Blu-ray player as you start to drift away in Papyrus hold, head lolling against his ribcage midst your struggle to keep your eyes open.

_Just one more movie and I can go to sleep... I can do this, I can keep Papyrus company for a little longer... I can keep Sans happy and avoid... Certain death... I can do... This... I can..._

_..._

_... ...!!_

You squeak sharply when you feel something poke a sensitive part of your side (at least it's your _good_ side), jerking in Papyrus arms so suddenly that he sits up straight and looks down at you in terror.

"Miss Human?! What is it?! HAVE I POPPED YOU? ARE YOU OKAY?!" Papyrus proceeds to fuss instantly, while you turn your head to quickly shoot Sans an irritated glare. He seems to be very proud of the sound he's gotten out of you, grin so wide that it's almost blinding. In an effort to calm the taller skeleton from having to smother and/or baby you any more than he already is, you face him and give him a forced, embarrassed smile that you're sure you could pass off as sincere.

"No, one of your bones just poked me in a ticklish area is all. Nothing is wrong!" You insist with a fake smile.

Something pokes your side again, but this time you just jerk in surprise, turning your head to see that Sans has crawled closer and is gently prodding your good side with a 'curious' expression. "Ticklish, huh? You humans are weird... So if I poke right here-?" Sans speaks with a tone that clearly screams he knows _exactly_ what he's doing, his physical skeletal phalange pressing into the same area as the phantom poke that woke you up. You squeal again and scramble over to Papyrus' other side away from Sans, curling up at the taller brother's side and hiding behind him with a glare in Sans' direction. Since you have a reason to do so now, you continue to give him a foul look and don't bother to hide it.

"Sans, don't poke our human," Undyne quips pointedly, reaching over to swat Sans' slipper before she sits down to watch the final movie of the night with us. "Anyways, guys, we might have to save the anime binge for tomorrow night. We have the box set for the rest of the week, so we have time to get through it. For now though, we're just gonna finish this movie and get to bed since tomorrow Paps, (Name) and I have class in the morning.”

“Monday classes, eh? What classes do you have on Monday, (Name)?” Sans decides to be nosy and ask, eye lights flicking back to you "innocently" when you retain your glare on him.

You stay silent for a couple moments too long as you pointedly glare at Sans, causing Papyrus to look at the two of you on either side of him before plastering an uneasy bright grin on his own face and proudly boasting, “Well, if you all must know, the _Great_ _Papyrus_ has a CIS class at eight in the morning tomorrow! I am not quite sure what C-I-S stands for, but I guess I will find out as soon as I attend the class meeting!”

At first, you flick your gaze away from Sans unwavering stare to look at the menu screen for _Insidious_ , listening noncommittally to Papyrus’ announcement with little interest… Until you completely allow his words to sink in. Your body tenses slightly and you shift your gaze around on the floor contemplatively until you muster enough courage to force your gaze up to his.

Papyrus, noticing the way your eyes rest on him, turns his head to face you- his smile relaxing into a much more natural grin when he realizes you are going to speak to him.

“Papyrus… Who is your professor for your CIS class?” You inquire carefully, watching his features light up again once your question is out. From the corner of your eye, you can see Sans and Undyne looking at you oddly for your query, while Alphys simply watches on curiously.

"My professor is named Professor Gerard! Why do you ask, Miss Human? Are you interested in joining my class to get closer to me?" Papyrus asks with a sly grin, giving you a quick flirty wink before you bite your lip and avert your gaze when you feel your cheeks start to get warm in both embarrassment and annoyance. Why's he got to _flirt_ like that in front of everyone? You don't even really _like_ him...

"No," You reply after him, only to feel a sharp glare burning into you from Sans' direction when Papyrus expression freezes in confusion. He looks somewhat rattled by your blunt reply, but considering you aren't done, you don't let yourself worry about it much. Besides, he'd probably toss parmesan cheese around like confetti once he heard the rest of your (unfortunate) statement. "I'm already _in_ your class. I'm not taking the lesson per se, but I'm a Student Leader assigned to Professor Gerard to help tutor and plan extracurricular lessons to students outside class hours."

Papyrus lets out an excited gasp, his face lighting up like a million stars as he stares down at you in unkempt excitement and grips the front of his scarf, stamping his feet lightly at the floor several times like a rabbit.

You can feel the glare from Sans relaxing as you blink up at Papyrus and wait for him to say something in reply to your revelation. The tall skeleton just smiles more when you blink, making a strange whining noise before you're (UGH) pulled into another hug again. Your chin is propped over his left clavicle as soon as you are wrapped in his arms, causing you to grunt slightly at the surprising contact. Due to your position, you meet Sans' eyes once more. He appears relaxed, but winks his right eye at you, displaying a flare of an iridescent blue and gold flash in his left eye. Clearly it's a warning- for scaring Papyrus into momentary disappointment.

You instinctively shift closer towards Papyrus in response, prompting Sans to eventually relax his eye back to its usual white light.

"Miss Human! We are going to have an _immense_ amount of fun together in that class! Now, would you enlighten me on what 'C-I-S' stands for? Undyne was the one to select my classes, and I was a little confused when I saw the title for my Monday and Wednesday class sessions! It would help me a lot to have knowledge on what to expect before I walk through the classroom doors!" Papyrus announces, totally oblivious to the starting movie as he continues to smother you.

Eventually, he allows you to sit up and face him properly despite that you are now practically sitting on his lap. You really, really, _really_ want to move, but you're completely at a loss on what to do. You could get off of his lap and risk hurting his feelings via rejection, but... Sans would probably _kill_ you. On the other hand, you could stay there and risk pissing Sans off since you're sitting on his _precious, innocent_ brother's lap, but that would _also_ probably lead to Sans wanting to kill you.

Considering that Sans wouldn't have a problem getting rid of you if you so much as make a wrong move, you decide to refrain from going out of your way to upset Papyrus by just staying on his lap in the end. Besides, whatever you do, Sans will _never_ be happy.

"Computer Information Systems... It's a class about the hardware and software components about computers- as well as an introduction to office applications," you explain, watching Papyrus expression go blank with confusion.

"Oh, really? I-I could probably help with your homework if it ever gets hard, Papyrus! I'm pretty handy w-with computers!" Alphys chimes in after your explanation, making Papyrus turn his head to smile at her.

"Thank you, Alphys! I'm sure Miss Human will also be helping me too in that case, right?" Papyrus asks brightly, sockets flicking over towards you.

You nod without missing a beat, looking away from Papyrus quickly so you aren't stuck staring with the close proximity your faces currently are and giving him the wrong impression (again).

It's so strange how his eye sockets function just like human and animal eyes do. You'd stare at Papyrus and Sans- hell, even Undyne and Alphys with their own strange eyes and facial features- if you could... But you know Undyne would point this out to you and make fun of you for taking an interest in monsters.

What a fish-bitch.

"Nyeh heh heh... Look, Sans! Miss Human is so taken with the Great Papyrus that she is unable to keep eye contact with me! How adorable...!" Papyrus whispers loudly to Sans on his other side, causing you to bring a hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose in resignation when Sans proceeds to laugh lightly at his brother's words.

"That's because you're so cool, bro," Sans replies as if it's something he always says. You think you remember Sans saying something like that the day they visited you in the hospital and Papyrus mentioned you'd given him a nickname...

There's just no winning against these monsters, is there? You're doomed!

You can see it already. Papyrus will be so infatuated by his delusions of your "undying love" that he's going to pop a ring, no doubt an uncooked _Spaghetti-O_ ring, on your finger. And then, Undyne will self-proclaim herself your Maid of Honor and will spend the rest of all eternity laughing about how you got strung to be Papyrus' human "wifey". You will have a huge wedding bash, with ear-drum shattering bells and gross monsters of varying sizes everywhere. Papyrus will be in charge of all the decoration, and he will end up customizing a wedding dress for you in the design of _Wonder Woman_ or some dumb shit like that. Alphys will be the one to have you reading your vows, and she will lace weeaboo jargon throughout the entire ceremony.

And you would just go along with everything.

Because Sans would want his brother happy...

And your rejection will do the exact opposite and result in premature death by a skeleton- one who _isn't_ the freaking grim reaper.

"S-say, we could probably w-watch this movie tomorrow before the return time, couldn't we?" Alphys suddenly pipes up again, causing you to look up and snap out of your depressing thoughts of the future.

Sans looks down at Alphys, raising a brow bone. "Why? Are you getting..." Sans begins, his grin beginning to widen as his eye lights flick over towards you and Papyrus in growing amusement.

"Sans, _no,"_ Papyrus warns with a hard tone.

"Bone..."

_"SANS...!"_

"...Tired?"

Papyrus stands up so abruptly that your arms snap around his spine of a neck before you can slide off and fall on Sans, his own right arm hooking around the sensitive area of your waistline where Sans had been poking you only recently. In fact, he's so tall that you dangle in his hold like a doll, hanging around him as he points to the door with his free arm and leans forward to get in Sans' face.

"BROTHER, _BEGONE!"_

The moment you feel his arm press into the sensitive skin of your waist though, you twitch and your arms scramble back down to try and unlatch yourself from his grip. Much to your dismay, he doesn't let go, so when he abruptly leans forward towards Sans, you lose your balance.

Like a sack of potatoes, your entire torso flops backwards unnaturally and one of your arms shoots back to catch yourself on the ground in front of Sans before you can hit your head, the other still working on trying to make Papyrus let go of you.

The room falls silent, save for the television playing a booming bass blow for an early jumpscare that none of you are paying attention to at the moment since everyone's eyes are drilled on you and you alone.

Since Sans and Papyrus are pretty much the only ones you can see, you're completely aware of the distraught panic that has suddenly appeared on both their faces. Sans' sockets are wider than you've ever seen, and the eye lights within are the smallest in comparison to the other times that night you've seen them. On the other hand, Papyrus looks like eyes have literally appeared in the span of a second, bulging out in disbelief as he stares down at you with his brother.

More silence commences, but you continue to try and unlatch Papyrus' arm despite your discomfort. He doesn't seem to realize what you're doing and just clings to you unmoving no matter how hard you pull and pry. For a twig-thin skeleton, he sure is strong...!

In your struggle, your back cracks loudly to your mild relief (honestly, it was kind of uncomfortable to be dropped into that backwards bent position without warning), and your breath hitches when Papyrus automatically tightens his arm around your sensitive waist, jaw dropping open along with Sans'. You weren't even aware Sans mouth could open up, but now that you see it, it's almost comical in a way. They both look horrified by you... And surprisingly you aren't feeling that sensation of shame you usually feel when you accidentally move a certain weird way. In fact... You kind of like the scared looks on Papyrus' and Sans' faces.

 _"P-please let go!"_ You blurt out weakly due to the ticklish sensations, watching as Papyrus expression shifts into realization when he looks down at your hand still pulling at his phalanges pressing into your side. He still looks horrified though, and lets go of you like you've burnt him.

"I-I BROKE MISS HUMAN!" Papyrus freaks out, watching your legs land on the ground and your hand finally join the other. With a graceful shifting of your weight, you flip your legs over your torso and land on all fours in the _natural_ position, standing up straight and taking a step back in case Papyrus lunges forward to hug you for a third time that night.

Your eyes flick around the monster's collection of stunned faces, until...

 _"HOLY SHIT, (NAME)!_ Dude, that was freaking _awesome!_ How were you able to bend back that far?!" Undyne blurts out first, sounding quite enthusiastic about what you've done- unlike other people that initially get freaked out with the accidental performance of your uncanny and unnatural flexibility. Alphys pulls on the end of Undyne's hair at this, causing Undyne to look towards her shy girlfriend and then cringe when Alphys shoots her a look. The fish-bitch's gaze shoots back over to you with a sheepish smile. "B-but, you're okay, right? Does it hurt anywhere?"

_Yes. My pride. I just got tickled by two damn skeletons. THREE TIMES._

You shrug quietly, well aware of the burning sensation of your cheeks as you quickly avert your gaze to the television. Undyne's initial praise is a breath of relief, and you can't help but want to show off a little more. "I've always been able to bend my body around like that," you reply to Undyne, watching as her face and Alphys's light up in shock.

"Wait, _seriously?!_ You can just move yourself like that all willy-nilly?!" Undyne shouts in excitement, standing up with an enthusiastic grin. "What else can you do?"

You look at her inquisitively, before your eyes land on her legs. Your gaze jumps back up to her face.

"Can you do the splits?" You ask, before Undyne looks down and moves off of the blankets in the living room, making her way to the wood paneling floor in front of the entrance. Once she's there, she starts to slowly slide down, legs moving away from each other before she stops and grimaces slightly. As soon as you see this, you walk past the still stunned Papyrus and Sans, both who are looking after you in equal bewilderment that doesn't look to be close to leaving.

Once both feet are on the wood, you simply drop down with a completely like it's nothing, landing on the ground with a _'thump'_ that makes the four monsters jump in shock from their respective areas.

"(Name)!" Alphys yelps, before you turn your head to look over at her casually.

"Okay, kid, _how_ are your legs not snapping right now?" Sans finally relaxes his features, shutting his jaw with a click of his bones and standing to walk over towards you and the still attempting Undyne as she literally punches at her hips to get lower than her limit.

You have to think of how to construe your words to the monster, the same monster that's been harassing you all night, and you touch your chin before you find how to explain it to him. Thankfully, he isn't glaring at you anymore- just looking at you with honest curiosity.

"Humans are born flexible at a young age, some of us more flexible than others because of a condition in our tendons. As we grow, the tendons between our bones harden, so a majority of humans can't bend like me. Most flexible people are either only front benders or back benders. I'm one of the special exceptions that can do both because my tendons decided they wanted to stay bendy," you explain, only to hear a whoop of strained excitement that makes you and Sans look over to Undyne a few feet away, legs split all the way to the ground and a look of proud accomplishment plastered to her twitching face as she shakes from the effort.

"HA! Take that, (Name)!" She shouts, causing your expression to go dry as you leer over at her.

She laughs at your expression for a moment until you lean back, still in your splits, to grab your leg with the knee against the ground, pulling it up in an over split raised a good two feet or three off of the ground. At the sight, Undyne's jaw pops open in clear discouragement and her visible yellow eye goes wide in bewilderment.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, (NAME), I CAN'T FUCKIN' DO _THAT!"_ Undyne more or less shouts at you, causing you to release your leg as a cheeky grin appears over your lips and you get out of your splits to burst out laughing at her new predicament. She quivers in an attempt to bring her leg up, first her front leg and then her back leg, until she visibly gives up places her hands on the ground to get up.

...

"Fuck," she suddenly says with realization.

You tumble backwards in even more giggles of delight, noting the way she momentarily death glares at you... Before suddenly grinning shakily despite her failure at besting your flexibility.

"Wow." You shut up at the sound of the voice beside you, looking up at Sans when you remember that he's standing next to you. You find him staring down at you curiously, eye lights almost shining in a way you hadn't seen it before. He looks... Happy? You don't know, that's the only way you can describe it. "I didn't think you could do that."

 _"That"? Is he talking about the over split?_ You wonder, before your eyes are dragged back to Undyne, who is cackling from her stuck position.

"Hehehe, you're _laughing_ (Name). Having fun?" Undyne asks with her quivering voice, watching your expression twist in shock at the looks on their faces. You hear Papyrus and Alphys suddenly giggling to themselves from the living room and scramble up onto your feet, frowning in offense and puffing your cheeks up in vexation as you look away from them and cross your arms. To make a point, you step away from Sans a bit too.

"Whatever. Don't let it get to your head, it probably won't happen again," You quickly recover, mentally cursing at the way Undyne shares a look with Alphys in the living room. Sans is still staring at you, but it's impossible to tell what he's thinking since you only see him out of the corner of your eye.

Undyne reaches out a hand to you, prompting your gaze to flick over to her as she grins up at you and keeps her eye focused on your face. You stare down at her hand silently, but before anyone can question you, you begrudgingly take it and haul her up off of the floor, watching as she shakes until she is on two feet again.

When you go to pull away, Undyne instead tugs you even closer and places her lips beside your ear to whisper something that makes your insides shift in discomfort- even more so than Sans' glare throughout the night. This is a threat too, and it's one even _worse_ than Sans'.

_"Watch out sucker, 'cause we're going to win you over eventually."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIS ONLY 10:35 PM HERE, SO I'M TECHNICALLY STILL ON TIME WITH THE UPDATE! 
> 
> ...Okay, so I was originally going to upload earlier after a quick revision... But then I started embellishing a few paragraphs... And added a few more paragraphs (read: pages).
> 
> TRIVIA~!: Sans wasn't supposed to show up this chapter. He was going to show up even later- but I ended up writing him in. Because the flow of the story just took me in that direction. LOL, SO ENJOY I GUESS. See ya next Friday and have a good weekend, sinners!! *wink wink*
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Tea Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	11. The King of Ketchup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because he is just a special kind of person, Sans decides to show you a little more of his best personal aspects (read: more of his asstardness).

Chapter 11: The King of Ketchup

 

_Something hits your face- it feels like someone's just thrown powder at you. What is it? Who did that?_

_But nobody is here._

_You grunt in surprise at feeling of a sharp pain in the center of your chest. It feels like your ribs have been forcefully stretched apart by an unseen force. It's hard to breathe all of a sudden. The pain is unbearable._

_But nobody is there._

_Glancing down at your chest with much difficulty, you see a large thorn-like structure protruding from your chest, causing the surrounding flesh of the wound to begin to dissolve away into dust. Other parts of your body are beginning to turn to dust too._

_But nobody is anywhere._

_You cough out dust- which builds up in your throat and blocks your airways enough to make you panic. There isn't enough air. You finger your throat desperately, even as the rest of your body begins to crumble away. Your legs are nearly gone. Your face presses against the ground as you make one last attempt to call for help before you become nothing._

_..._

_But nobody came._

****************

Your eyes snap open to a dark void, an emptiness that swallows you whole and threatens to devour your very soul as you stare into it.

…?

Wait. No it’s not. It’s just Alphys' living room- and it's pitch black because it’s the middle of the freaking night.

Shivering uncontrollably from the nightmare, you carefully push yourself up in a sitting position, looking around until your night vision clears and you’ve finished wiping the sleep out of your eyes. You can see everyone sleeping from where you are. Alphys is laying to your left, snuggled and spooned by Undyne... Papyrus sleeping next to you, much to your dismay (hey, didn’t he fall asleep on the couch close to Sans…?), with an arm resting lightly over your waist. Sans is sleeping on the couch sitting upright like some kind of weirdo, but it’s clear that he is _definitely_ asleep, if his obnoxious snoring in sync with Undyne's own loud snores is any indication.

The only one who is awake is you.

 _Ugh, that's got to be on one of my all-time worst-nightmares-ever list... What time is it?_ You wonder midst your shivers, gently moving Papyrus' arm a little so you can pat around the sheets for your new phone. You pat around for a minute or two, until you finally find it and tap the fingerprint reading pad at the back to open it up. When the light hits your eyes, you nearly let out a groan of annoyance, but stop yourself short before you can wake anyone up.

...!

... _Someone stopped snoring,_ you vaguely realize after a second, a chill crawling up your spine as you finish lowering the brightness to look at the time. _I-it's fine... As long as it isn't Sans who's woken up, it's fine..._

You attempt to focus your attention back on your phone- praying that whoever's woken up just goes back to sleep when they see that you're just checking... Wait a second, five unread messages and eight missed calls?

Completely forgetting about whoever's awake, you open your messages only to see that everything's from Libby. Confusion is written all over your face, but after a bit of thinking, you eventually wince in regret when you realize that you never told Libby you'd be staying with Undyne and Alphys for the night. Jeez, no wonder she's been bugging you all night... The messages begin a little before midnight.

_'(Name), I'm getting off late.'_

_'Just got off. Too busy to reply to me or something?'_

_'Srsly? I may be mad at you, but I don't want you to get hurt again- if this is some kind of joke to get back at me, it's not funny.'_

_'(Name), I'm walking home from work now, you better be okay.'_

_'Damn it, (Name)!! Pick up your fucking phone!!! I'm goiNG TO KILL YOU MYSELF!!1!11!!'_

You shake your head a little with a quiet scoff, now completely awake as you pull off the blanket to stand and start making your way to the door. You decide to call her from outside so you don't end up waking any of the other monsters- ignoring the small noise of sleepy curiosity from Papyrus as his arm drops from your side when you stand. Oh, so it's Papyrus who's woken up? Or are there two monsters awake then? Nice, you've _already_ managed to screw up and disturb someone's sleep. Idiot.

"...Miss Human?" Papyrus whispers surprisingly low from where he's laying, prompting you roll your eyes in annoyance before you turn and tap your phone to let him know you need to make a call. He nods from his spot sleepily, as if not even fully aware of the situation, before rolling over and trying to go back to sleep. With that covered, you open the front door quietly and step out, already putting the phone to your ear as you shut the entrance to Alphys' house behind you.

The phone is answered after four rings.

 _"Oh, my god, (Name). I'm seriously going to kill you- where the hell are you right now?!"_ Libby's voice is sharp and laced with venom as she speaks, and she makes no attempt to lower her volume considering she's probably the only one at the house right now besides the kitten.

"Relax. I'm at Alphys' and Undyne's place. They invited me to spend the night," you answer with a leveled voice, slowly growing more agitated by the second when she takes the chance she's given to start scolding you some more. 'Cause Libby _always_ has to make a point to let you know when you do something wrong or stupid. It would be a lot less irritating if she just did it to help you understand- but the way she always brings your mistakes up usually only makes it sound like she's ridiculing you and shaming you. Even for _little_ things.

You take a deep breath as you listen to her.

 _"Oh, but you couldn't be bothered to tell me so I wouldn't be over here waiting and waiting- hoping you were okay? You were just attacked recently, don't scare me like that!"_   She scolds you while you scrunch your nose in distaste and glare at a nearby potted plant, your back resting against the door coolly as you do your best not to open your mouth against her. Thankfully it's such a humid September night that you don't need to wear a sweater outside... Yet.

 _You mean like when you couldn't be bothered to check up on me yourself when I first went missing? Or like when you couldn't be bothered to stay in the hospital with me- your best friend and practically your_ sister _\- when two strangers who are aware I'm disgusted by their race could? Yeah. Okay. My bad._

You're glaring so hard at the potted plant that you have to avert your gaze to the ground after a moment, just so you don't accidentally defy the laws of nature by (somehow) tapping into some freaky mind ju-ju that unintentionally sets it on fire. There is a soreness at your chest area that you rub gently as your mind flitters back to your nightmare for a fraction of a second.

_What an awful dream... Is that how it feels to be 'dusted' like a monster?_

Allowing silence to be your only answer (not counting your soft breathing as you inhale the air you're sure you were deprived of in your sleep), Libby eventually sighs over the phone.

 _"(Name), I'm sorry. It's just that I was worried. I've been sitting in the living room worrying like crazy and it's four AM in the morning. I thought something bad happened to you again. Seeing you in the hospital... It_ hurt. _You're like a sister to me, you know?"_ She explains, causing your glare to soften despite the raw hurt that still ebbs at the edges of your heart. She still left you at the hospital...

Something hits you as odd as you have this thought, causing your eyebrows to knit together in frustration. You may already have the answer to this odd thought, but... You want confirmation. And you can get it whether Libby answers truthfully or not.

"If you were so worried, why didn't you call the police? Either time?" You ask out loud slowly, only to hear Libby sigh on the other end of the call once more. This time it's a little shakier and uneven than the last, causing your eyes to close. She's doing _that_ again. She always sighs like that when she does it...

"I _was_ going to for the last time, but... Sans stopped me. He said he could find you himself and stuff... We were going to call it in after he was unable to track you down, but he insisted we do it personally after our visit to see his friends in the hospital," Libby explains quickly, albeit, with a shaking tone of uncertainty that makes your chest only throb even more.

_She's lying._

You already know why she wouldn't have called it in to the police. She's gotten in trouble with the cops a couple of times for different, stupid reasons (with one DUI on top of that), and finds it uncomfortable to talk to them since they pretty much know her face for the dumb things she's done... Like going in a _McDonald's_ drive through and mindlessly getting in and out of your car (which she was borrowing from you after much begging)- holding up the line as a result.

Or peeing on the neighbor's front lawn in the early morning due to a drunken state that left her too lazy to finish entering the house... or at least doing her business on _your guys'_ front lawn.

Or like that one time she spent a night in jail for getting caught back during high school for spray painting vulgar images and words on school property.

...Needless to say, Libby is no stranger to the police. They don't really like her either- as she's pretty much vomited at least _once_ on each of the senior officers that work in the area. The fact that she's a child from a money-swimming family seems to only make them dislike her even more.

So basically, she'd rather not face the shame of talking to the cops than have you safely found and brought home. Wonderful... Honestly, she could have just _called_ anonymously as well, couldn't she? Is _that_ too much to ask for?

Still... No need to place blame on Sans- even if he _is_ a bag of dicks and some. She must think you still haven't spoken to him yet. Libby probably thinks you'll never actually meet him to ask him such a thing.

You hate how easy it is to deduce those facts, but say nothing to counter her words. You just can't bring yourself to. She may not be the greatest person anymore, but she used to be. And still...

She's the only one you really have right now. She might be a little nicer later- you just have to give her a chance. She still cares about you. You know she does. Things were already beginning to fray at the seams a few years before this whole fiasco with monsters showing up, but maybe she'll snap out of whatever funk has been causing her to lie so much lately.

"Oh," you answer, waiting for her next excuse regarding her lack of getting help this time.

 _"Yeah... Anyways, if you're okay and everything... I'll talk to you later,"_ she instead says, completely forgetting about the other half of your question.

Because you love her, you allow her to let it slip by, merely biting your lip and answering, "Okay. See ya."

The dial tone echoes in your ear as soon as the words leave your mouth, and you take your phone from your ear to look down and leave the call log list with a heavy heart.

 _Well... At least she cares enough to plague me with all these voicemails I'm going to have to listen to and delete one by one,_ you crack a small smile, but it doesn't entirely reach your eyes.

As long as you don't lose your grip, everything will be alright. She's holding the other end of the rope- and you know she won't let you go.

You're holding on.

You look up at the night sky, eyeing the twinkling stars above as your mind replays her words- both the obvious and underlying meanings. Half of you wants to approach Sans and ask him yourself, not to be sure if he was truly the one to halt Libby from seeing the police, but to let him know that she placed unwarranted blame on him to save her own skin.

...

Incidentally, you decide not to. Maybe you just need to give her some time to admit it herself before you tell the obviously hostile monster... Yeah. Besides, you don't want her to get hurt and you don't trust that horrible skeleton to be very understanding.

_Alright, now that I've solved that problem, I should head back in and keep sleeping. Or else I'll be a zombie when we all wake up..._

You push off of the door after tucking your phone in your bra and reach for the door handle, turning it and-

_Click._

Your body freezes like a statue at the sound and your hand stays glued to the doorknob. Inhaling sharply, you turn the handle a little harder, but you are met with the same sound when the knob refuses to twist to your motions. You even lean back to try and pull it open, but nothing happens.

 _Shit..._ You realize, releasing the knob and pressing a hand to your forehead in disbelief. You're absolutely sure you left it unlocked. You _know_ you left it open- you were exiting with the knob turned to step out as quietly as possible! There is literally _no way_ it could have locked on its own.

...Unless...

A movement in the window to the left of the house that leads to the living room has you glancing over, where you watch in utter bewilderment as Sans visibly places both arms on the back rest of the couch on the other side, resting his head on them as he peers out at you casually with that dumb wide grin of his. As soon as you make eye contact, he gives you a slow and irritating wink.

_IT WAS HIM!_

You give him a look of pure aggravation, motioning to the door so he can get off of his lazy ass and _open it up._ His only response is to lift his head and uncannily open his jaws wide, miming a yawn as he gets back in his original position and rests his head back down on his arms. He looks like he's having a great time in there, watching you with interest as you turn away to look at the house for another way back inside.

Really, you _could_ just knock on the door or ring the bell and wake everyone up. Not like you care whether you disturb them or not, but... But what if Undyne decides to get mad at Sans? And in turn, Sans hate for you grows- henceforth driving him to want to dunk on you even more than he already wants to?

_Why is there no winning with these freaking abominations?! I DO hate monsters! I don't care what Undyne or Alphys think! I don't give a flipping hoot about Papyrus!_

_But most of all, I'm really starting to FREAKING HATE SANS._

You scurry over to the gate on the left of the house that leads to the backyard, Sans' hooded eye lights following you with lazy interest as you escape his line of sight, touching the side of the gate only to find... seven different locks going down the partition that keeps it shut. All of them are coded locks that require a connection from a separate electronic tool to type in the correct passkey, so that route is a definite no...

Undeterred, you walk back around to the other side of the house to try and find a window, glaring at Sans the entire walk past his post at the window. His shoulders move slightly for a moment like he's made a giggle, but from outside you can't hear anything.

 _This is just dickbaggery to the_ max _, I swear! Why does_ he _hate me so much?! I only dislike monsters, what the heck did I do to him to deserve_ this _though?!_ You wonder, trying the window and giving up when you find that it refuses to budge against the lock. _I thought he would be at_ least _more civil after my elasticity battle with Undyne! I answered his question nicely and_ everything! _WHAT HAPPENED?!_

In the back of your mind, you snort in exasperation and listen as reason snaps that you're not even civil to them yourself. You push the annoying thought away as you try another window leading to a guest room (by the looks of it), which leaves you wondering why Alphys' home has no security alarm against opening windows. You give up when the second window refuses to allow you entry.

With no other obvious way in, you throw your arms up in frustration and stalk back over towards the living room window to cross your arms expectantly, meeting Sans' lazy gaze. When he watches you stand there for a full minute without doing anything, you stamp an angry foot and point at the front door again.

His eye lights flick to your arm and back to your face for a moment...

Before he closes his eyes and proceeds to try and fall asleep _right then and there._

 _YOU AAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!_ You screech in your head like an animal.

You stand there and reach up to pull at the long locks of black curls atop your head... Until you notice something incredible about the window between you and the horrible skeleton monster. In fact, it's so astoundingly coincidental that you nearly give in ripping your hair out as a result.

 _Funny_ that the _only_ unlocked window turns out to be the one that Sans the Skele- _clod_ is behind.

 _Damn that stupid, bony, uncouth, bastard of a-!_ You think, before taking a deep breath and clapping your hands together. He doesn't seem to hear anything as you rub your palms and reach forward to the window, having to lean carefully over the rosebushes in front of the house to start pushing it up.

You do this as carefully as possible, watching observantly as you push the window up _excruciatingly_ slow to make sure Sans doesn't notice and-

You have it open only maybe five inches before Sans' eye sockets snap open- his right eye void of light and his left flared to life with the blue and gold colors of his magic.

For a moment, you're startled by the presence of magic close to you, watching half scared and half mesmerized as his pupil flashes- contrasting the darkness of night around.

Speaking of magic though, all of a sudden the weight of the window becomes unbearably difficult to hold up. You gasp lightly as the window begins to push down against your fingers, until you are leaning against the painful thorns of the rosebushes in your attempts to keep it open. You look up at Sans as you struggle to keep your only way in open, muscles shaking at the effort. Sans single glowing eye light stares back at you unblinkingly, as if trying to make you give up.

Thorns press into your belly as your tank top rises with your shoulders from the bottom, but despite your mental cheering and motivational talks to keep trying...

You allow the incredible weight to win over and loosen your resistance against Sans' magic, letting the window eventually shut quietly once you pull your fingers out of slamming range. Even though it's quiet, it _indeed_ slams shut behind you. As soon as it's shut, you notice a blue glow surrounding the window, and your eyes follow it as it creeps over to a small lever atop the middle section, flicking it towards the other side to signify it locking.

Sans grins wider as his other eye light returns and the blue-gold glow of his left eye settles back to a neutral white light. As if mocking you, he lifts an arm and taps his bicep casually, watching as you flush red and turn away from his window in frustration.

 _UGH! He is the worst!_ You think, grinding your teeth in unkempt rage as you stare off into the distance. Frustrated and slowly growing tired since it's- oh, right, _the middle of the fucking night!_

...

_I wonder if he's still watching me..._

You risk an angry glance back over your shoulder.

Aggravatingly, you're met with the skeleton monster giving you another nonchalant wink as you do, but rather than stand there staring, you decide your time is better spent not giving up yet. There's no way he can keep you outside all night after all, right? Someone's going to realize you're out here...

...Eventually.

You walk back to the right side of the house and start looking through the windows again, though with less urgency than you'd shown upon your first round. Not like you're under a time limit or anything... Well, except for the fact that you're losing a good chunk of sleep time because of Sans the skele- _twat._

In your frustration, you impulsively place your hands on the window and attempt to wrestle the piece of shit doohickey to submission... But it refuses and you slide down the side of the house like an overcooked noodle of defeat.

 _Great. I'm stuck out here. After all, why_ ever _should I be allowed an ounce of peace in this miserable world?_

...

_I'm stuck out here._

_...!_

_I'M STUCK OUT HERE!_

You stand right back up and let your face break out into a grin. You don't _have_ to freaking stay here! You can just march on back home! And if Sans just _lets_ you walk off, Papyrus will be upset to find out you're gone in the morning! Which means...! Sans _has_ to let you in! HA! Who's really the winner _now?!_

You walk back around the house, rounding the corner as close to the wall as you can until you are near enough to jump in front of the window where Sans watches, causing him to lift his head in mild surprise when he spots the sassy smile on your face.

You give him a cheeky wink about as sarcastic as the ones he's given you and hold up your hands brightly. Now, you're not sure whether he knows sign language, but you proceed anyways since he obviously can't hear you.

**'Up yours, noob.'**

When Sans' eyes widen following the last signs, your eyebrows rise in surprise and you giggle a little. Oh, so he _does_ know ASL. To put the icing on the cake, you lean in and kiss the window, watching his eye lights suddenly vanish before you lean back, give him a dainty wave, and turn to start jogging out of his line of sight.

 _I'll bet he needs to see me to use that blue magic of his! Heehee!_ You think evilly, jogging down the street and jumping over a neighbor's fence as soon as you see Sans blip into existence outside the house. _Oh, so that's how it looks when he teleports..._

You duck behind the fence, quietly giggling and watching Sans spin around to try and find you. This is all fun at first, until you notice the single blue-gold light his left eye socket as he searches and feel your stomach plummet in remembrance.

You did it again.

You went forgot that he's a monster.

A monster you've just provoked like the moron you are.

 _He's going to rip me a new one when he finds me,_ you realize in terror, face going pale. _That or he's going to turn me into a pancake with his magic. Or he's going to fling me off a nearby cliff. Either one he chooses, it's going to be over for me. How sure am I that he won't try anything because of his brother? How can I be sure of_ anything _with a monster?_

You flinch when you feel a familiar jolt in your chest, causing you to gasp and touch your chest nervously. The moment you gasp, you notice Sans freeze from where he is searching, before his skull slowly starts to turn in your general direction. You duck down behind the fence before he can see you, attempting to stop the fear rattling inside your chest.

 _Time to go,_ you decide, dropping any and all plans to try and get yourself back into the house. With that demon skeleton waiting to dismember you standing outside the estate? No way are you going back there!

After a few minutes, you peek over the fence and find Sans AWOL, prompting you to fling yourself back over the fence to make a break for the alleys between the houses across the street. Your bare feet barely make a noise against the blacktop and concrete as you run, but your breath soon gets shallow and uneven- especially due to the sticky humid weather that is beginning to create a layer of sweat across your body and under your clothes.

You only slow down after you're a good distance from Alphys' place, but keep your eyes on alert in case Sans shows up out of nowhere. Yeah, there's no sneaking up on you- you're like a _radar_ right now!

Pulling your phone out, you take a quick peek at the time and curse inwardly at yourself. It's 4:57AM. Maybe if you hadn't provoked Sans, he'd have let you in on his own merit by now.

... _Nah, who am I kidding? He's a lazy asshat. He would have left me out there until the last damn minute,_ you reason, scoffing out loud.

"God, I just want to go back to _sleep..."_ You say out loud with an exaggerated groan, pressing your cheek into your hand sleepily and letting the arm holding your phone go slack against your side.

"Then why don't you?"

You yelp embarrassingly loud and whirl around with your fists up, ready to use even your beloved new phone in case Sans wants to pick a fight with you. You probably don't stand a chance against Sans, but you'll be damned if you don't at least _try_ to get out of a tousle with him by the skin of your teeth.

...Only it's not Sans who's spoken to you. He isn't even here right now.

You blink in bewilderment at the sight of the woman in front of you, your expression confused beyond belief as you take in her curious gold eyes and note her great skill and ability in creating a dark smoky-eyed look with makeup. Her black hair is tied in two long and lazy pigtails on either side behind her ear, with one bearing a pink and yellow dyed braid from the side of her hair. Due to the narrow alleys, she's pretty close to you and you have to crane your head to meet her gaze, allowing you to take in the young features of her face. She's close to your age- maybe a bit older around the late twenties, and the woman is _seriously_ tall- like, _Amazonian_ tall.

...Like Papyrus and Undyne tall. Only closer to Papyrus's height by the looks of it. How can a woman even _be_ this tall? She's like 6'3 or 6'4!

Once you've gotten a good look at her face, you tentatively begin to lower your fists... Before raising them again when you realize you don't even _know_ this random woman. She could be cuckoo, or some other variant of crazy waiting to explode in your face like a bomb, and with your drastic height differences? She'd _definitely_ be able to wipe the floor with you- better than probably Sans could ever hope to!

"Who're you?" You demand, raising your guard despite the casual position of the woman and the way her arms hang on either side of her body. She seems composed and undaunted by your raised fists, and barely spares them a glance before looking back up to meet your hardened gaze. With a nonchalance that stuns you, she puts her hands gently on your fists and lowers them herself, her expression unreadable, yet bearing no sign of annoyance or offense by your sharp tone.

"My name's Druella," she simply answers, before things go silent and she blinks down at you expectantly.

_Ooh-kay..._

"...I'm (Name). Uh, what are you doing in a place like this?" You wonder, looking around at the back alleys of houses as you wait for her to answer.

She raises a single eyebrow in what you can only guess is either curiosity or amusement. "What are _you_ doing in a place like this?" She asks right back, watching your expression twist into annoyance with her unwillingness to reply. This "Druella" person just cracks a bit of a smile before it returns to it's odd neutral expression.

"I'm just... Talking a walk," You decide to answer her, peeking over your shoulder to make sure Sans isn't around. When you don't see him, you look around Druella quickly and meet her gaze, pointing to the path behind her. "Preferably in _that_ direction."

The strange woman nods in understanding and touches her chin contemplatively before startling you by questioning, "So then you're taking a walk... And also avoiding that skeleton you were flirting with from the house I passed earlier?"

You gape at her slightly, wondering how she'd managed to pass Alphys' house without you noticing. After all, your observation skills are pretty damn great- things such as a stranger passing you by when the streets are mostly empty doesn't usually slip your attention. Even back when you got kidnapped, you still noticed the horrible man before he'd spoken to you. Well, you figure it's only natural considering her black cargo pants and black and dark gray checkered tank top- which blend in pretty well with the nighttime environment.

...

"Yes, I'm avoiding a skeleton. No, I was _definitely_ not _flirting_ with him. That ass locked me out as a joke and now it's backfiring on him because he didn't realize I could actually choose _not_ to play his game. He's getting exactly what he deserves- especially after his continued streak of harassment to bug and annoy me," you finally break and release your kempt up rage, crossing your arms and making a face at a nearby wallflower. "I mean, who does he think he _is?_ I never did anything to get treated like that!"

The strange woman before you nods again after processing your words, looking back down at you with that blank expression of hers. "...And your decision to deal with his infantile attitude is to challenge it... With more childishness?" She presses thoughtfully, even though her tone expresses no scolding or ill intent.

Despite her lack of fighting words, you bristle at being called "childish" and open your mouth to retort... Only to realize how right she totally is as you allow your jaws to shut closed.

Look at you- you're being an idiot again and walking around alleys in the dark butt crack of pre-dawn as a way to _get back at a lazy, carefree skeleton._ That's not getting back at _him_ , that's putting yourself in danger. Ugh! IDIOT! ...Furthermore, _why_ are you even talking about this to a _stranger?!_

You face palm at the realization and quietly turn to leave, the only remnant of the conversation with the strange woman being a soft chuckle from far behind as you grumble incoherently and drag yourself back towards Alphys' house in a grouchy mood. Whoever that "Druella" lady is, she's totally right... You need to get back, apologize to get on Sans the skele- _fart's_ 'good' side (if he even _has_ a good side), and pray to all that is holy that Sans allows you to enter the house after the stunt you pulled.

It takes a few minutes to get back when you speed up into a jog once more, only slowing when you reach Alphys' house and find... That Sans is _actually_ asleep on the other side of the living room window. He totally _gave up!_ Does he even _care_ you are out here wander-?!

...Scratch that. Of course he doesn't care. If he did, you wouldn't be outside in the first freaking place.

You whisper a curse in frustration at the sight and throw your hands up in defeat, rounding to the left of the house to see if you can maybe climb the gate. Unfortunately, the bars are completely vertical, making it impossible to get a good foothold. After many uncomfortable noises and attempts, you give up and walk past the window again, newly bloomed blisters on your palms due to your sweat from the humid weather.

Sans is still sleeping.

A quick glance at your phone reveals the time to be 4:58 AM now. You wish you were in bed right now... Sleeping and counting sheep. Not staring at the exterior of Alphys' house and wondering how come there is a giant sword stuck against the side of the upper window leading into their attic.

...Even though that's a really good question that you need to ask Alphys as soon as you can find a way back in.

 _Fuck skeletons. Screw them all. I hate skeleton monsters_ the most, _it's official. Good job, Sans. I completely understand now. You and your annoying brother are insufferable._

It's while you're around the right side of the house, leaning in and looking lazily into the guest room with an arm propped up to hold your head, that you suddenly become aware of something at the bottom of the wall that comes from the back of the house rounding to your right. You blink the sleep out of your eyes and rub them clear until you can see what it is, pressing your hands against the window in disbelief.

A doggy door. There's a _doggy_ door! Of course, you can't say you ever saw a dog in Alphys' home during the movie time- which makes its presence mindboggling in itself- but you can't complain since there's a _freaking doggy door!_

You run to the back of the house, slipping through the brick wall behind the house and the wall of the house itself until you find the doggy door that leads into the guest room. You clap your hands and rub palms quickly with a mad grin of delight.

_YES! In we go, mothafukka!_

You reach into the doggy door with your right arm first, allowing your head to follow carefully before you start to twist your shoulders and collar at a reasonable angle, allowing them to slip in first until you are pulling your other arm and waist through. Once you reach your hips, you shimmy a bit and they pop in, leaving you dragging your legs the rest of the way inside of the house much to your delight.

Easy peasy!

You stand up and dust the dirt off of yourself quickly to make yourself presentable, glancing down at your phone for the time and grinning when it only then flicks to five am sharp.

 _Good, it didn't take as long as I thought it would,_ you think, walking out of the guest bedroom quietly until you are back in the living room, arms raised as you crack your back and kneel down by Papyrus, crawling over him and causing him to jerk awake slightly. He raises his head, but as soon as he sees it's you, he lifts the blankets and allows you to plop down next to him before quietly pulling the blanket over you and getting comfortable again.

 _Heh, I win,_ you can't help but think, despite the return of Papyrus' arm over your sensitive waist as you lightly flinch at the contact but choose to instead peek up at the couch above you.

Much to your delight, Sans has woken up due to the movements around him, eye lights narrowed in clear disbelief at your return _inside_ the house. Your response to this is to cuddle closer to Papyrus- only to internally laugh at the expected reaction in which his eye lights vanish in rage- and pop your hands out of the blanket momentarily to shoot two middle fingers up at him before you curl up against his brother and try to get some more sleep.

 _I win, I win, I win~! And now I'm_ definitely _sure Sans is all bark and no bite! He didn't attack me this time- and he probably won't try and kill me the next time either! HA!_

It isn't until you're close to sleep that you realize you're _way_ too excited about your victory and force the good feelings away with a mental eye roll.

_No, you need to focus. They're monsters. They're nothing. You just need to deal with this until they get bored of you. That's exactly what Sans said and he knows them the best... Once they're gone, everything will be perfect again._

You fade into the realm of dreams with a small smile, clinging to the hopes of a returned normal life as your only driving force to deal with the monsters around you.

************************

**(Next Morning)**

You awaken to the sound of loud clattering and the scent of something delicious wafting in the air, causing you to jerk awake at the sounds. You salivate painfully to the smells and touch your jaw, waiting for the sting in your mouth to settle. As soon as it does, you sit up and look to see who's around making those ridiculous noises in the morning.

Alphys and Sans are still sleeping... Well, not like they have to do anything this morning like the rest of you do.

You grimace when you feel an annoying pressure between your eyes- a lovely reminder of your mere three hours (which should have been at least five) of sleep due to watching movies, having trouble falling asleep in the same room as Sans the skele- _turd_ , and getting locked out by aforementioned stupid skele- _turd_.

With a quick glare at Sans' location on the couch, you stand up and wobble over to your overnight bag beside the blankets where you and Papyrus were once sleeping. You can hear noises in the kitchen that make you flinch every now and then, but despite the clattering, neither Sans or Alphys stir.

_Hm. They must be used to it..._

You hurry out of the living room and to the guest room to change, dropping your bag on the bed and pulling your tank top off... Only to realize how sweaty you smell. You make a snarl up at the ceiling in distaste, mouthing _'Sans'_ furiously before you pick up your bag and leave the room to go to the kitchen, pulling your tank top back in place.

As you turn into the area of clattering, you're immediately greeted with the sight of something yellow flying towards you, causing your reflexes to kick in as you drop down onto your knees and watch it soar over your head before hitting the wall behind the dinner table just outside of the kitchen. It's an egg yolk...

"WHOA! Sweet moves, (Name)!" Undyne hoots, watching your eyes flick back to her in a sharp glare that does nothing to intimidate the fish woman.

"Indeed, Undyne! Miss Human would likely make an _excellent_ candidate to join the Royal Guard! ...If it still existed, that is," Papyrus chirps in delight, back in his usual "battle body" outfit as well as his messed up apron. He's beating something in a glass container with a whisk so briskly and brutally that it's flying all over himself, Undyne, and the rest of the already screwed up looking kitchen. From the distance you're at, none hits you, but it's a questionable and far too intense of a sight for the morning you're having. Especially since neither monster before you seems to care about the mess their making.

Considering the stains on yesterday's clothing, as well as the amount of goop that had gotten on Undyne and Papyrus, you really shouldn't be surprised about this cooking episode at all.

"...Can I use your shower?" You eventually get out grumpily, watching Undyne snort when she leans in and eyes your face.

"Sure thing, nerd. It's the first door to the left down the hall. While you're in there, you might wanna take a look in the mirror. You don't look too good," she informs you, pointing a spatula that flings bits of what look to be scrambled egg at you. This time, since you're already dirty and know what it is, you don't even blink when most of it lands in your hair and hits your face.

_I. Hate. Monsters._

You simply turn away to take your overnight bag to the bathroom, glancing at the living room quickly to make sure Sans is still snoozing. Having to deal with Papyrus and Undyne this early in the morning is tolerable at best, but if _Sans_ goes and wakes up? Hell no. Just freaking _no._ After he locked you out of the house last night? You'll be damned if you have to crawl in through that stupid doggy door again like some kind of animal.

Thankfully, he is still snoozin' away like _..._ the dead...

...

You face palm on your way to the bathroom as you make another unintentional pun, grumbling incoherently at your idiocy as you lock the door behind you and immediately start to rip your clothes off.

Not really paying the bathroom much attention, you flinch suddenly when you catch a glimpse of your face on the mirror above the sink as you turn to regard the shower, turning your head back to the mirror quickly in disbelief. You look really tired, but at least it's not as bad as you imagined it would be... Kind of. Okay, it's pretty bad.

You're face is a bit paler than it was yesterday and there is a small puffiness to the skin under each of your eyes, colored a slightly darker shade that contrasts with your skin. Your hair is also ridiculously oily- even though you took a shower yesterday before you left the hospital and everything. Must have been a little more humid than you thought last night...

Damn that stupid skeleton.

Your shower is efficient and quick, leaving you feeling a little better about your situation as you walk out with the scent of mint and chocolate surrounding you from the personal toiletries you brought in your overnight bag.

_Alright, it's just the tall skeleton and fish bitch you need to deal with this morning. You can do this- once in class, you'll only have to deal with Papyrus. Luckily, Undyne will go do her own shi-iiiiIIITTTT, WHY IS SANS AWAKE?!_

You stop dead in your tracks when you lock eyes with the regularly hostile skeleton sitting at the kitchen table, head propped up by the top of his ketchup bottle until you walk in and he sits up straight. Both of you seem to have a moment in which you quietly mad-dog each other with just your eyes (eye sockets in his case), sending clear threatening messages to one another now that you're absolutely sure he _won't_ and _can't_ do anything to hurt you in Papyrus' presence without causing his brother worry.

Papyrus is literally the only thing saving your ass from a dunking by the looks of it.

...And it's kind of annoying but also pretty freaking hilarious now that you think about it.

"Ah! Miss Human! We have just finished preparing the Motivational Breakfast! Please sit down by my surprisingly, recently awakened brother!" Papyrus blurts out happily, taking your overnight bag and ushering you to sit towards Sans' right before you can object or flee from the scene. "It's incredible that Sans is awake before three in the afternoon! Normally, he will just keep sleeping despite my efforts to rouse him, but he got up on his own this time... You must be a good influence if you can get him to awaken this early in the morning so effortlessly! How curious!"

Sans seems to take immense pleasure by your discomfort when you start looking around for an escape route, only to be plopped down next to him by his brother despite your efforts. His eye lights twinkle in malignant delight, and you tense immediately when you feel fingers quickly scuttling up your spine as a quick reminder of movie night before. "Yeah, bro. How _curious,"_ Sans says, grinning and creating lines of amusement along both corners of his eye sockets that resemble the crow's feet wrinkles of humans when they smile. Making matters worse, the asshole decides to scoot his chair a little closer towards you much to your disdain, getting his elbow right in your zone with a lazy, innocent grin towards the kitchen.

"(NAME), you PUNK! ...Let's talk before you eat. THINK FAST!" Undyne shouts at the top of her lungs, making you follow Sans' gaze into the kitchen and flinch down under the table with your lightning fast reflexes just as a blue spear the size of a flipping _harpoon_ embeds itself into the backrest of the chair above you. Now that you notice, there are holes already present on the backs of every chair at the table... Why is Undyne so _murdery?!_

You hear Sans chuckle evilly when you shoot out from under the table to dodge another spear that brushes your shoulder. With an expression of panic scrawled across your face, you jump around into the hall to avoid getting a spear in your left calf- ignoring the laughter from Sans as you press your back against the wall and inwardly curse Undyne for humiliating you even more under Sans' watchful and judging eye. Not that you care what he thinks about you, but you _hate_ that he's under the impression he can heckle you and get away with it.

 _I'll get back at him somehow..._ You think to yourself furiously, cheeks bright red when Papyrus peeks into the hall with wide eye sockets of obvious concern.

"What, you think that's _funny_ , NERD?!" You hear Undyne shout, flinching reflexively at the thought that she's going to try and throw another spear at you... Until you hear a deep, indignant yelp from Sans that has you looking around the corner curiously.

You bite your lip desperately to keep from laughing in front of him and sparking his rage again, choosing to just stare and slap a hand over your mouth as you shake from waves of quiet giggles. Papyrus turns to look as well and soon joins in your amusement, though he himself makes no attempt to muffle his loud snickering at the sight.

Sans sits in his spot with a glowing spear embedded in center of his plastic bottle of ketchup, a dry look of bemusement across his skull as sprayed ketchup from the ruptured bottle drips from the side of his skull onto his also ketchup-sprayed blue hoodie and white undershirt.

You think you get away with your quiet laughter, but his eye lights flick over to you towards the hall faster than you can pull away and hide that you've seen any of his... _Predicament_.

Still, even though he now knows that you've seen what Undyne did, you continue to allow your shoulders to shake in a rush of glee. This is the third time you find Undyne's presence worthwhile, and you make an immense effort to halt your laughter and cross your arms to return your cold mask back to your face. She can't win you over- even _if_ she's punishing Sans for his coarse attitude towards you.

Undyne rounds the corner with a smirk and gestures for you to go towards the guest room, making you turn to walk into the room to the right of the hall. You spot Papyrus watching as you two vanish into the room from the entrance of the hall, wringing his red gloved hands in clear curiosity until Undyne pushes you into the room with a light shove and shuts the door behind herself.

Once the two of you are alone, she sighs heavily and turns to face you like she expects you to admit something.

...

"Well?" She demands, raising an eyebrow that has your expression twisting in confusion before you glance around to see if an answer is going to jump out at you. Your eyes land on the doggy door much to your bemusement, and you force your gaze back up to Undyne.

"'Well' what?" You ask frowning and giving her a look like you think she's crazy. "I didn't do anything."

"Sure, _you_ didn't. I'm talking about _Sans'_ case," She says, causing you to shrug in response. Sans may not be able to _dunk_ on you, but he can still continue to make your life miserable with his heckling and torturous pranks. Who knows how bad he can possibly get with his crude jokes if you tell Undyne and she starts harassing _him_ in response. Who's the stronger monster, Undyne or Sans? 'Cause if _Sans_ is stronger... You'll be in deep water for telling Undyne.

"It's nothing I can't handle by myself. Git good, or _git wrecked,"_ you respond to Undyne, eyes shifting back to the doggy door before you eventually crack a smirk of dark glee when you recall the look on Sans' face when you cuddled back with his brother upon your unprecedented return. _Worth it._

"...Girl, you're flipping METAL!" Undyne howls loudly, making you look back up at her as you cover your smirk with a scowl in her direction. Instead of trying to pry the incident with Sans out of you, she opens the door and runs out with a terrifying grin of satisfaction, loudly guffawing to herself as you follow behind casually until you are back in the kitchen.

Surprisingly enough, Sans has a clean jacket and shirt on when you turn into the kitchen, this time sporting another white shirt but wearing a red pull-over hoodie that contrasts the blue zip-up he'd been wearing prior. Although the red splash of ketchup remains on the wall behind him, the table, chair, and his face are completely clean. Hell, this bastard even has _another bottle of ketchup_ at hand.

"'Sup," he says when you walk in, giving you a wink that could have fooled you into thinking he was a great guy... Had he not already proved to you how big of a dickwad he is.

"...Hi," you reply despite the tension in the air between the two of you, returning to sit down next to him and-

**_PPPPBBBBFFFFTTT!_ **

"Uh-oh. Better watch out, _'Miss Human'._ There are all kinds of creeps out here just itching to play these kinds of childish pranks on the unsuspecting," Sans warns you with mock seriousness, eye lights dancing up to your face in amusement when you pull out the yellow whoopie cushion that had been placed under your ass. The surprised expression on your face soon twists into a dry glare as you hold the infernal thing out to Sans, the skeleton chuckling and taking it from you before popping it back in his hoodie pocket.

 _Childish idiot,_ you think with a huff, just as Undyne and Papyrus place the dishes of food out for everyone and take a seat at the table around you, dragging a still sleepy looking Alphys along to eat.

There are four monsters sitting at the dinner table around you.

You are _literally_ about to eat breakfast at a table full of monsters.

This fact strikes you as ironic- you've never even eaten at a table full of _humans_ in such a domestic way- much less _monsters._

Just why the _hell_ are you here...?!

"ITADAKIMASU, BITCHES!" Undyne barks out loud before beginning to tear into her food, Papyrus following suit while you start eating the two pancakes stacked on your plate beside some scrambled eggs and bacon.

You eat the pancakes and bacon first, before you reach your scrambled eggs and stare at them for a second. After a moment, your eyes flick up to the bottle of ketchup by Sans' plate longingly and pensively.

_I wonder if Sans would even give me some if I mustered up the... Courage... to ask... Damn it, there I go again with accidentally punni-! OH WAIT!_

"...Sans," you say seriously, turning to look at him in your seat. If he's surprised that you're the one actually trying to talk to _him_ this time, he doesn't show it and simply faces you with an unreadable expression. "...I know we aren't close, but I think I've **_mustard_ ** enough courage to ask... Could I have some of your ketchup?"

Sans eye lights brighten for a fraction of a second and his sockets widen... Right before Papyrus lets out an exaggerated scream of disbelief and Undyne's jaw flops open in shock. Alphys is still half asleep though, and makes no comment either because she's too tired or doesn't even notice. Seconds later, Sans is chuckling to himself- a genuine laugh that momentarily has your evil side grinning in delight now that you've inched your way into possibly getting the ketchup bottle.

"Nice one, kid, though it's gonna take some time before you **_ketchup_ ** to my level _,"_ Sans puns right back easily, though his left eye momentarily flashes blue and gold as he holds the bottle out to you. Somehow, you know this is a reminder that you're still on his list despite the little pun you've made. "But sure. _Have at it."_

You catch the oddity of his tone but take the bottle of ketchup anyways, eyes staying on him as you reach to the cap to unscrew the lid that, surprisingly, is already unscrewed much to your confusion when you look away from Sans to give the bottle an odd look. You ponder this for a second before shrugging and turning the bottle to pour a ridiculous amount of the tomato-ey goodness over your scrambled eggs, hearing the disgusted noises of Papyrus and Undyne as you do so. Once you have a reasonable amount on your plate, you screw the lid back on the ketchup and look up at Sans' unrestrained expression of surprise, holding the bottle out to him.

"Thanks, _buddy,”_ you can't help but mock him, giving a smug grin as you meet his eye lights.

He seems to grin a little wider as he takes the bottle from you, and leans back into his seat lazily, watching you like a hawk much to your annoyance as you start to eat your ketchup covered scrambled eggs in satisfaction.

"No problemo, _amigo,"_ Sans retorts, feigning innocence and leaving the conversation at that.

Once you finish your ketchup coated eggs, Undyne swipes your plate and tosses it into the kitchen violently like it's a Frisbee, making you frown and flinch when you hear the shatter of the plate as it makes contact with the sink. Well, not like the kitchen was improving in its state anyways...

"YOU EAT. SO. _SLOW!_ Come on, let's get out of here! Later, nerd! Later, _babe~!"_ Undyne makes a point to kiss her girlfriend's cheek on the way around the table- just before she lifts you under her arm like a football and snatches your overnight bag up. Next thing you know, she's kicking the front door down and charging towards the car on the driveway with you in tow like a rag doll- still waiting for someone to put you out of your misery.

On the bright side, at least Sans isn't joining you guys- and you blow out a breath of relief once Undyne and Papyrus sandwich you in the truck, the three of you heading for Ebott Creek Community College together.

 _...Alan will be there,_ a thought springs in your mind as Undyne pulls out from the driveway, prompting a bit of a smile to appear on your face. If anyone can brighten your day- it's definitely Alan.

You bite your lip to resist your smile from getting bigger. You could get through this day! No more SANS! Yes!

** Ping! **

You look down at your pocket and pull out your phone, only to frown in confusion when you read a new message from Sans in your inbox.

_'how many humans does it take to get into a locked house?'_

You shake your head slightly in confusion- **Ping!**

Until you get the second half of the message and feel your cheeks flush cherry red in fury.

_'apparently none. Just a **bitch** through the doggy door. hehehehehe.'_

_HATE HIM, HATE HIM, HATE HIM, HATE HIM- How the heck did he figure out I got back in through the doggy door?!_

Your fingers violently type out a reply to him, but you're careful not to show the snarl of contempt that wants to express itself across your face. Especially since Undyne and Papyrus are next to you.

You've got this. You can handle one stupid skeleton.

...

Just not right now, 'cause you've got school to focus on. It's not that you don't have a good enough comeback to retaliate with. Definitely not that. School is important. Skeletons with attitudes are not.

You immediately discard your furious message to Sans.

** Ping! **

_'whats the matter, miss human? not gonna bark back?'_

_'LEAF ME ALONE.'_

First of all, you groan loudly at your accidental typo as you slip your phone away, only have it sound in your pocket after a few seconds when that **Ping!** of a notification does its job at announcing a new message. You glare ahead at nothing and pull your phone out again much to the curious looks of Papyrus and Undyne on either side of you, grumbling under your breath about _'dumb skele-dung'_ and whatnot.

_'no, i'm **vine** , thanks._

The smart phone is plucked out of your hands so quickly you barely notice it midst your enraged mood. Having an idea of who it could be though, you look up to see Papyrus on your right grinding his teeth furiously with wide eyes and a momentary spark of orange-gold in his right eye socket, your phone pressed against the side of his skull.

_Shit, that almost looks like Sans' magic eye...!_

_"'sup,"_ you hear Sans speak due to the close proximity to Papyrus, only to flinch as soon as the tall skeleton opens his jaw to scream, "You know what's _'sup'_ , _Brother!_ Quit punning at my human date-friend! I CAN SEE WHAT YOU ARE SENDING TO HER OVER HER ADORABLE SHORT STATURE! Do not make me have Undyne turn this car around, I _CAN_ and _WILL_ wash that foul mouth of yours with spaghetti!"

 _"heh, alright, alright. I'll stop... **Fleur** now," _ Sans chuckles on the line, while Papyrus screams a little more right before pulling the phone away and hanging up on his brother.

"Miss Human, I am sorry for my brother's behavior!" He pauses to sigh heavily, eye sockets shifting towards the right in distaste. "He tends to get very... _'jerky'_... When he meets humans that aren't as extroverted as I, the Great Papyrus. Sans seemed to get along well with Pretty Human after she spent the entire day hanging out in our home with us! Plus, they always went in Sans' room for that 'real time' I told you about before. I wonder what they talk about in there... I tried to listen in once, but gave up when I realized eavesdropping is _not_ the way of the Great Papyrus!"

Blinking in surprise, you watch as his eye sockets slide back towards you, a warm smile forming on his face that you can't help but wince at since you know what he's about to tell you. That's... Not guilt you're feeling is it? No, it probably isn't... You're just really annoyed that he's being a suck up.

You’re not a wonderful person at all. You’re a nobody. Nobodies don’t matter and they don’t shine.

"However...! I'm sure if you hang out with us enough, Sans will _definitely_ give in to your alluring charms and see you for the magnificent person you are, just like I have! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus boasts, patting the top of your head as you stare up at him. Your rage has deflated at his words, and you look down at your lap once you're sure he's finished talking.

"Watch out, (Name), your _mushy_ parts are showing," Undyne cackles from your left, causing your hands to fly up to your chest in alarm before you can even make sense of what she really means. As soon as you reach for your breasts, Undyne lets out an amused snort of laughter, which has a frown of annoyance forming on your face as you release the mounds of your torso and turn away to look ahead at the road Undyne isn't watching (you know, since she's in the middle of _laughing_ at you).

Papyrus spares your chest a visible glance of confusion, as if he doesn't know why you were clutching at them, but gets over it quick once he sees the approaching college up ahead.

"Ah- _hah!_ We have arrived on schedule, Miss Human! Let us make our way towards our classroom, post haste! _NYEH!"_ Papyrus announces, throwing open the door to his side of the car and unbuckling the seatbelts of both himself as well as you. Startled by the opening of the door while Undyne is ripping through one of the campus lots like a maniac, laughing her head off no less, you squeal a little when Papyrus grabs you and the single binder poking out of your overnight bag. "I presume you only need this item? Well, off we go then!" Papyrus comments, grabbing your binder and his red backpack with the name _"Papyrus the Great"_ written across the front in gold fabric paint under one arm. Under his spare arm is you, with your eyes are as wide as dinner plates when he jumps out of the truck like it's nothing.

He lands gracefully with bent legs as we pass by a drop off point, Undyne speeding away with a shout of, "LATER, _NERDS!"_ as her truck door slams shut on a sharp turn and continues to barrel on through the school loudly with no sign of decelerating.

 _Shit, why did that crazy fish-bitch choose_ me _to be her best friend?! I'm going to die before I graduate with my first degree!_ You think, while Papyrus places you carefully on your feet and hands you your binder.

"Shall we then, Miss Human?" He inquires, reaching out to you invitingly with a red gloved hand and a kind smile on his skeletal face.

You stare at his face and then glance down at his hand, before placing your own in his much larger palm. Your expression falls in resignation as soon you turn away to start leading him to his first class at Ebott Creek Community College.

 _I hope my suffering makes you happy then,_ you think sourly, throwing a glare up at whoever resided past the graying sky above you. Looks like it's going to rain soon... So at least that's _one thing_ to look forward to.

You _love_ the rain. You've never caught a cold sitting out and enjoying the splash of water when it cascades down onto you from the sky. It's a drop of a blessing to you, in the contrasting sea of your misfortune and curses.

You wonder if monsters can also catch colds like humans... But considering their bodies are made up of purely magic, you have your doubts.

At this point, you start to turn so you can ask Papyrus. Before the words can leave your already prepped lips, you stop and turn back forward silently. No, if you start asking questions- showing _remote_ interest... Undyne is never going to give up on you. Besides, it's just curiosity. Nothing else. You still don't like monsters and you still refuse to be friends with them. You've no need for them or anyone else for that matter.

"Yes, Miss Human? You want to speak? Go on! I will listen," Papyrus chimes in much to your embarrassment, causing your cheeks to dust a light shade of red as you turn to look back at him again.

"...I was w-wondering if, um... Monsters could get viruses like humans. Like the flu or something," you state, watching as Papyrus scratches the back of his skull and looks up in thought.

_Tch, stupid skeleton probably doesn't even know..._

"I do not believe we can acquire such illnesses like the ones you are thinking of... But there _are_ indeed certain kinds of conditions that can occur to us monsters that hinder our ability to be the best we can in life! One of the more common ones being _'Falling Down',"_ Papyrus is surprisingly explaining to you moments after your mental insult towards him, causing you to twist in his direction in shock. Wow, you weren't expecting anything to come out of his jaws other than a short, _'I don't know'._

 _What the heck?_ You wonder, watching Papyrus eye sockets light up a little when they meet yours. You're sure he's excited that you want to ask him more- but you desperately hold back your tongue.

 _No, stop it. That's enough questions,_ you reprimand yourself firmly, turning away with a mere hum of interest.

"...Miss Human, can we please stop for a second?! I... I would like to say something! I can assure you we will still make it to our class on time," Papyrus seems to blurt out really quickly, stopping and causing you to jerk back when he doesn't follow you.

Confused and annoyed, you turn to look at him. You must look _a little_ vexed despite your efforts to hide it, because Papyrus face flushes a light glow of orange that makes you snap out of your irritation and blink in surprise. As soon as he looks away and coughs (what's a _skeleton_ need to cough for...?), it appears he gets a hold of himself since his blush vanishes.

After a minute of a pause, you start to turn away again since he doesn't say anything. He doesn't budge when you move to leave, and you look back again in confusion. You've already spoken to him _plenty_ , or at least plenty enough by your standards, so you just stare up at him quietly. Attempting to will him to follow you to class with your mind.

Instead of walking, he crouches down to your level with a bit of a sigh, meeting your eyes bravely despite the clear uncertainty of himself within his eye sockets.

"Miss Human... It seems as if everyone is under the impression that because I am wonderfully chivalrous, handsome, and kind- I don't realize the things that they do," you stare at him, watching as his eye sockets dryly narrow on your face. You can't help but notice the similarities this look has with Sans' empty-socket glares and you reflexively shiver, drawing your arms closer towards yourself as a result. He relaxes his gaze and gives you a wacky smile when he seems to notice. "No need to be afraid, Miss Human! I am not my brother and nor am I angry with you. I would just like to clear things up before you too, as my friend, are stuck with the impression that I'm, for lack of a better word... Stupid."

You take the moment to bring your palm up and slap yourself in the face.

_WELL, YOU ARE STUPID. I don't like monsters and you're literally the only one left that thinks I-!_

"I know you don't like monsters, but..." You remove your hand in undiluted disbelief, looking at him in such utter shock that he pauses to take in your expression and giggle to himself. "But I hope you might change your mind. After all..."

Papyrus spring back up on his feet with a jaw dropping jump that sends him up a good seven feet off the ground, before landing and striking a pose after throwing the back of his red scarf back over his shoulder. Lord knows how, but the breeze seems to pick up on his need for a dramatic scene, and his scarf is soon billowing gently behind his posed body.

"You _are_ in the presence of only the GREATEST monster out here! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus grabs your hand again and pulls you towards him, lifting you off your feet like a teddy bear and pointing ahead. "ONWARDS, THEN!"

He starts charging off with a loud battle cry, _'Nyyeeeehhhh'_ -ing off towards the school grounds before you're even given the chance to mention that he's going the wrong way.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! It's 2:24 AM! FRIDAY! Yuusss! I wrote this early and spend the last few days revising and tweaking! I think this one has to be my favorite chapter so far. I didn't plan any of the getting-locked-out-by-Sans part, but it ended up happening anyways.
> 
> Since I updated last Friday pretty late, I figured, "Hey, let's update this one early on Friday! HUZZAH!"
> 
> Have a great weekend, guys~! :D
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	12. Ain't Got a Nose to be Nosing Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans decides to stick his nose hole where it doesn't belong and while attending CIS with Papyrus, you meet another new monster happy to bug you with their existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna take the time to thank everyone for the onslaught of sweet and motivating comments you always give my chapters. Really, if it weren't for you guys, I would have quit on this entirely. I'm so glad I didn't. I'm very happy you all enjoy it! It makes all the time I spend writing each chapter worth every second!
> 
> Merry Christmas~! (ehrm, almost- technically in two days) :P

Chapter 12: Ain't Got a Nose to be Nosing Around

 

The door to your house shuts behind Libby as she leaves for work in the morning, leaving just the sounds of cute mewls behind in the house as the kitten trying to catch up to her is met with the door shutting. The kitten runs up to the door and continues to mewl, pawing at the crack and calling out fruitlessly in hopes of reminding the human of the empty bowl in the kitchen.

After a good ten minutes of silence, the kitten gives up and takes to walking over to the fluffy cat bed under a tower beside the front door, curling up in the cushion to begin the grueling wait for its owner to return and feed it.

...

** POP! **

Sans appears leaning back with his ketchup bottle placed at his mouth, tipping his head back far enough that he nearly loses his balance and downing the last of his tomato ambrosia until it is gone. As soon as it's finished, he walks on over to the kitchen and carelessly places it on the counter, his glowing magic tongue swiping it's blue length over his teeth and mouth ridges.

 _"Me-eow!"_ The kitten charges off of its bed and scampers over to the skeleton who looks around the house, his two white eye lights scanning for either resident before glancing down when the kitten suddenly jumps on his shorts and proceeds to begin climbing using their little claws, mewling frantically for his attention.

At the sight of the rumple furred kitten climbing up his clothes and towards his face, Sans can't help but laugh a little and give the kitten a pat on the head before peeling it off of his red hoodie gently as if it were Velcro. "Hey, little guy..." Sans coos warmly, which the kitten replies to in stride with more demanding mewls. "Hungry? I know... Sorry you're stuck in a house with that girl and her **cat-titude.** He he..."

Sans waltzes on over towards the kitchen with a lazy grin like he owns the place, sliding the cat carefully in his large hoodie pocket so that only the head of the kitten peeks out. It continues to mewl at Sans, slowly becoming placated the closer the skeleton monster gets to the kitchen. Before Sans knows it, it's jumping out of his pocket as soon as he pulls the kitten chow out from under the sink, the kitten watching  as Sans proceeds to fill its food bowl by the sink with a generous amount of kibble.

The kitten shoves it's face in the meal after Sans pulls away, but instead of putting the food back in its place, Sans shuts the sink cabinet with his foot and puts the open box of kibble on the counter beside his empty ketchup bottle. He _wants_ you to find it so that you know there's no escaping from his presence when his spaghetti-loving brother is hanging around you.

 _She'll snap eventually,_ Sans thinks to himself, leaving the kitchen to stroll on over to your bedroom. He pushes the ajar door open with ease and chuckles at the sight of the trash tornado still in your room, making his way over to your bed before jumping on and placing his arms behind his head in relaxation.

It's upon jumping on that something moves from beside your pillow and hits the wall loudly, causing Sans to sit up again and glance over to see an orange hardcover book close to falling in the gap between the wall and your bed. He snatches it up before it can fall through, giving it an odd look... Until he notices the metallic lock that keeps the pages shut. In that moment, he realizes what he's got in his bony hands. The lights within his eye sockets flash with extreme opportunity, and he grins wide like a maniac.

_Oh, heck yeah._

With a blue flash from his left eye light, the lock pops open with barely an ounce of resistance, allowing Sans to open the book and snort in amusement when he opens to the first page to find the barely legible writing of a four or five year old. He leans back again and crosses his ankles as he starts reading, eye lights searching for any discrepancies between you simply being a normal bitch of the surface, or actually being a closet murderer wannabe.

The first page is titled as:

**_ Dey I: Oktobr 14 1995 _ **

As adorable as it is to read the bad spelling of a child, Sans has to shake off the mental image of you as a cute giggling school kid, like the ones that love to play with his brother when they visit Toriel's elementary school, before he can progress into the diary any further.

_ 'Liby gev me buk to rite memries in. I am exitid! I luv liby!' _

Sans bites down on his lower mouth ridge and begins to quiver, before the bones of his mouth press together over his teeth as if they were lips- an attempt to stop himself from cracking up at the absolutely innocent purity of the _same_ _girl_ that was only recently stomping around outside a locked house while he watched her run back and forth across the lawn to find a way in.

 _There's no way this is the same girl,_ Sans thinks to himself, turning to the next page. As a child, your first entry was written in big letters that took up the entire first page sloppily.

The next page has a nice handwriting in comparison to the first page, and Sans furrows his brow bones in confusion. The second title reads:

**_ Dey 2: Oktobr 16 1995. _ **

The spelling is still off, but the handwriting has improved at a rather jarring short amount of time of what is recorded as only two days. Sans blinks a little more, flipping from the first page to the next, until he shakes it off and goes back to the second page. What does he know about human learning capabilities? Monsters youths take a little while to get the hang of orderly penmanship from young ages, but maybe humans learn a lot faster...? Weird. Who knows...

Sans' mind momentarily flips back to the other strange memory of the night before, when he'd been messing around with you using magic... And your soul reacted defensively.

It's the first time he's ever seen such a dull colored soul, though he could quite clearly tell that the color was a creamy white shade, inching close to a grayish dull at the lower point that actually stunned him at first sight. Whether the color is meant to be part gray and part cream colored is up for debate- as Alphys has recently discovered a plethora of other shades and mixed colors standing for different things. If the shade is naturally meant to look like that, it's probably an unidentified soul nature at the moment.

Still... He's never encountered a human soul able to ward off magic with the essence of what makes it up. It's very dangerous- it's essentially like how monsters use their entire being of magic to fight. One wrong move, and it's over. The vulnerability of fighting with one's soul... Humans don't even _need_ to use their soul like that. They have physical matter that makes up their bodies.

Stranger than that, you'd even managed to keep him from digging into your soul so he could judge you. _That_ was pretty fucking weird.

Sans shakes the thoughts out of his head. His answers might be in your diary. He needs to keep reading.

_ 'Liby gev me alfalfa bet buk to lurn how to rite betr. Liby mom told me I wus geting durt in her hous and neded a bath. I am sory.' _

For a moment, Sans feels like an asshole for laughing at the misfortune of a child, but eventually reminds himself of how you are now and allows his chuckling to continue. So you were a messy kid back then?

Sans glances around your unkempt room and grins wider. Things haven't changed, it seems.

He returns his attention to the diary again and flips to the third page, only to lean back a little and blink in astonishment as his smile fades away.

Your spelling has now improved by this page and the penmanship looks to have been carefully executed, making the writing look incredibly organized. The only mistakes are your contractions and placements of commas.

Sans finds himself curious about the human mind and its capabilities as he begins to scan the page.

**_ Day 3: October 19th 1995. _ **

_ 'Libby wants me to be her sister. Her mom and dad dont like me very much. Today we went to watch Libby play some piano. I want to learn too so I can be just like her. Libby is so pretty.' _

It's so charming that Sans smiles genuinely. You sound like such a cute kid... So, what changed? Why did Libby insist to him that you were a rotten soul? One who locked herself away from others and refused to make many friends? ...One who _hated_ monsters so vehemently that you would threaten to **dust** one? Libby made it clear you _reveled_ at the idea of dusting a monster... It makes the surface of Sans' bones crawl at the reminder that his brother is stuck with such a _witch_ like you at Ebott Creek Community College.

You could do it at any moment... Hurt his brother just like the kid, _Frisk,_ had done for so many resets...

Sans snaps out of his reflections, shaking the morbid thoughts out of his head as he returns his attention back to your diary. He only has Libby's word that you're **bad to the bone.** No definitive proof that would give him the green light to dunk on you. Without any proof to show, Undyne and Papyrus would _definitely_ try to stop him.

So he just needs to find something that _proves_ your malevolence... It's a good thing a snot-nosed brat like you decided to write all of your daily shit down like this for him to leaf through.

Sans refocuses on the next page.

**_ Day 4: October 25th, 1995 _ **

_ 'Libby and her parents paid some people in high places to make me an identity so they can take care of me. I finished learning the basics of English from Mrs. Pangoli, Libby's home school teacher. She says I'm more advanced than Libby and most kids my age... Libby's mom and dad asked me to not talk or write too much because it's weird for a six or seven year old to talk like I do. It's okay, I'll do it for them since they like me now. I like listening to Libby. _

At this entry, Sans makes a face of surprise. What do you mean by _'make you an identity'_? The way it's implied makes it sound like Libby and her parents just found you wandering around and decided to take you in... But at least it confirms that you're pretty much adopted.

The odd thing that stands out is the way you describe Libby's parents asking you to stay quiet and not write. Sans is by no means an expert at parental supervision or support, but aren't parents _supposed_ to praise a kid when they do amazing things like that? The way you wrote it... It's like Libby's parents shunned your language skills.

**_ Day 5: November 1st, 1995 _ **

_ 'Libby's parents are letting me learn to play an instrument with Libby! I'm so happy, Libby said she wanted me to play something with her so we could do duets in the future when we get better. I tried to play the violin at first, but I'm really bad at it. Libby said that I should try to play the flute... So I will! _

Sans smiles a little again, though this one is a little more sleepy than the first smiles when he opened up your diary. You sound like you really looked up to Libby back then... However, entries like these aren't what he's looking for. You're no longer the cute little girl that wrote all these early passages- he needs to find the _adult_ you. The one with the bad attitude and slightly psychopathic tendencies he's sure you have.

Sans stick a finger at the page he's on and quickly flips through the rest of the diary to see how many pages are filled out, only to go through nearly the entire diary until only three blank pages are left. His eyes catch the latest entry, and although he's not really paying much attention, he sees his name and opens it up to read out of sheer curiosity.

**_ Wednesday: September 25th, 20XX _ **

_ 'God damn him. Damn that skeleton. NO, not that freaking naive cinnamon roll of a skeleton, **Papyrus**. I'm talking about **SANS**. HIS LAZY, UNGRAMMATICAL, LOSER OF AN OVERPROTECTIVE BROTHER THAT I ACCIDENTALLY TEXTED BECAUSE PAPYRUS CAN'T WRITE THE NUMBER '5' FOR SHIT.' _

The rage in your capital lettered penmanship has Sans snickering in amusement as he re-reads the beginning once again. Papyrus a _'cinnamon roll'_? What's that about? And... Well, at least you were right about Sans on the 'lazy' and 'overprotective' aspects.

_ 'He's **literally** the worst! He buttered me up with these dumb winter puns and then **threatened** me! What's his problem?! He doesn't even **know** me! _

Sans laughs a little louder when he reads your thoughts on his puns. Hey, you made some yourself too, so you have no right to call them dumb.

_...Apparently, Libby told him something about me not liking monsters though?? I don't know. I mean, it's not like I was hiding it but... Well... She didn't have to go and announce it to them. I'm not mad at her for it, I guess. Maybe she was in the right to tell them. Maybe it will make Papyrus eventually leave me alone.  _

The skeleton on your bed frowns a little, grinding his teeth slightly in mild anger. Oh, so you _don't_ _know_ why he hates you? Well... _Maaybe_ it's because you announced to Libby that you wanted to see how _dusting a monster_ felt like.

So far, Libby has been nothing but nice and supportive to Papyrus- even to _Sans_ himself, so he has no reason to question her claims. She's gotten him to move around and do things that he more or less wouldn't have done due to having reached the surface several times during resets and expected everything to just... Vanish. She achieved this in just a few _days_ , no less.

This has been the longest time he's spent on the surface without a reset. It's almost _ethereal_ that Frisk hasn't reset yet.

Sans is grateful for Libby's presence, as well as a little flattered whenever she stops by and dives into him for a hug. He has done everything he can to support her as well, by allowing her to enter his room privately to get advice when she needs it (called 'real time'), to the point that Libby even had him teleport into your guys' home to check on you, when Libby felt like you didn't deserve it. He has to give 'Pretty Human' props- despite such a _shitty_ friend like you, she still has your back no matter the situation.

Also... He'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a _little_ flattered that Libby seemed to have a bit of a crush on him. Sans didn't reciprocate it by any means; He's not interested in humans, but... It's a nice boost of self-esteem nonetheless.

_ 'I don't know. Sans... He seemed alright at first. He scares me a little though.' _

**Good.**

_ 'I was actually really happy when he started joking around with his puns over text. Ugh, I'd be lying if I didn't admit he was actually kind of smooth and charming, but WHATEVER. Jack Skellington is the ONLY skeleton better than freaking SANS. The fact remains that his skyscraper of a brother is a skeleton- so that means HE is a skeleton! I know **rabid animals** with more charm than him! Just... UUURRRRGGGGG!!!!' _

Sans' eye sockets widen and his left eye flashes blue and gold momentarily as he re-reads a specific line in your diary.

_Smooth and charming._

_Charming and smooth._

Your words, recorded on paper, for Sans to ogle at until the day he finally becomes a pile of dust coating the planet. No, it's not that he's _disgusted,_ but...

Well, yes, it's exactly that he's disgusted, but there's another more pressing issue about this statement she's written.

It's strange that someone who wants to see how it feels to dust a monster... Also thinks that a monster has the same capabilities as a human- for example, having feelings and being competent enough to be _'smooth and charming'..._ Come to think of it, it's also odd that you would call Papyrus a 'cinnamon roll'. You're using that analogy to imply that he's overly affectionate, right? It's a very weird...

Sans rolls his eye lights and places a palm over his face in frustration, dropping your diary in his lap and stretching out over your bed like a starfish, nonexistent belly up.

You're a weirdo, plain and simple... A weirdo with a strange agenda and, so far, no written proof of your nefarious thought process.

Sans grabs your diary from his lap with a lazy stretch and curve of his body, grabbing the lock to it from beneath it and closing it up again. He'll have to read the _entire thing,_ eh? Maybe you'd have something nastier written at an earlier date that will make Undyne, Alphys, and his brother change their mind about you... Well, it'll take a lot more than one passage to get Papyrus away from you- he refused to abandon even _Frisk_ despite the kid being covered head to toe in dust during one genocide timeline- but Undyne and Alphys are doable.

He can read some more later though... For now...

Sans places the diary where he found it, and returns his arms behind his head, pulling his hood up to cover his eye sockets and getting comfortable.

...For now, it's nap time. After all, he has the day off for a reason.

...

...Who the heck is Jack Skellington?

* * *

 

 

Papyrus opens the door to your classroom with a delighted grin, allowing you to slip in with a wrinkle of your nose, trying to figure out how the skeleton could move so fast without even an _ounce_ of muscle (literally!) on him.

Thankfully, true to his words, Papyrus raced across the campus- _twice-_ to get the two of you to class on time. He got lost first, asked you where it was, and got lost a second time before he eventually found it with some efficient pointing on your part.

 _Hmm..._ _I don't see Alan yet,_ you think, looking around at the rows of computers as you walk with Papyrus through the center clearing to get to your row. Considering he's a new student, you figure he's going to need to sit beside you for a bit so you can help him catch up on the class activities.

You hug your binder closer to yourself. Even though you dislike monsters, you aren't going to let that get in the way of your job as a CIS Class Leader. You need to help the students pass, whether they're monsters or not, or _you_ will get a bad grade from the teacher. The success of all the students in the class will reflect how well you did as a teacher aid- and will add some major brownie points to your overall student transcripts.

You sit in the first row on the left with Papyrus at the far end of the row next to the wall, but this seating is only for a limited time until you wait for the class to fill up (in case another monster is in the class) and ask the professor for access to his office. You've already done the same for one other human student last week that got a late add code, so there should be no problem getting his permission this time. Either way, you're not sure how many monsters will be taking this class yet, but if you're lucky, it will only be Papyrus. The less there are, the faster and easier you can get him caught up...

 _"Whoa_ , look... (Name)'s brought a skeleton monster with her to class," you hear someone whisper, causing Papyrus to visibly turn his head in the direction of the chatter before he looks back to make eye contact with you.

"So what must I do to integrate myself within this class?" Papyrus asks with a giddy grin, watching as your eyes flick past him at the two boys whispering to each other about how cool Papyrus outfit is, considering the display of his thin bones.

"...First off, students aren't allowed to talk to each other during lecture. It's considered rude to talk when the teacher is talking," you begin, fully facing him and crossing your legs as you stare up at him seriously.

_I can't believe I have to explain this to him... Didn't they have schools underground?_

"But of course, Miss Human! I am well aware of class etiquette! I must raise my hand when I ask a question and I must pay attention to the professor. Right? And I may not ask a question until _after_ the lecture is finished, correct? Ah! This will be easy then! I assumed humans would have a marginally different class etiquette, but it appears not! This shall be an easy feat for the Great Papyrus!" Papyrus exclaims, with you simply nodding to every query while the classroom fills up.

"For now though, you don't have to pay attention to the professor... Just to me. I'm your teacher until you catch up to the level of the rest of the class. If anything, we're going to be leaving to use the professor's office to get you caught up. We're just waiting in the class to see if there are any other new students joining," you explain to him, turning away in your seat to face the front of the classroom.

As soon as you do, your expression brightens as you see the tall, handsome guy of your dreams walk through the doorway. His eyes immediately land on Papyrus, prompting him to grin and look around to meet _your_ gaze. Your heart nearly jumps out of your ribcage- _he looked at you...!_

"Hey, there, (Name)!" Alan greets as he strides over to your row to say hi, making you resist a stupid smile as you lift a hand to awkwardly wave up at him nervously.

 _Oh, you noob!_ You think to yourself dejectedly, despite Alan raising a hand to wave in response with a cute grin that makes his freckles more noticeable on each cheekbone. He seriously has cheekbones for _days..._

You immediately realize you're staring when Alan chuckles down at you, causing you to avert your gaze downwards in embarrassment. He doesn't seem put off by your weirdness, so at least _that's_ a plus...

Alan soon moves his brown eyed gaze over to Papyrus, who straightens up as soon as he sees him. Recognition flashes in Papyrus' eye sockets. "Hello again, Undoubtedly Handsome Great Papyrus!" Alan greets, straightening and offering the skeleton a playful salute that has Papyrus straightening and puffing his chest out in response.

"Ah! Sir Human from the _Redbox!_ Greetings! You are a student in this class as well?" Papyrus inquires, receiving a grin from Alan in response.

"Sure! I mentioned I was (Name)'s classmate when we met," Alan reminds the tall skeleton monster in amusement, looking in no way offended by Papyrus forgetting.

Sheesh, who's son _is_ this? Mother Teresa's? Wait, scratch that. Nuns swear a life of chastity, so he's definitely not her child...

"...Oh!" Papyrus blurts out after a moment of thinking, surprise coating his features like a rainbow. "So you did! Yes, I remember. Would you like to sit with us, Sir Human? We won't be here long according to Miss Human. We're simply waiting for more new students as well as the professor."

Alan smiles down at you and places his hand on the rolling seat to the computer next to yours, pulling it out. _"Weellll,_ don't mind if I do," Alan chirps brightly, scooting his chair closer to you and Papyrus small circle at the end of the first row before he sits down and pulls his denim blue backpack off. He sets it aside next to the computer keyboard and faces you two. "How was your movie night, by the way?"

Papyrus' eye sockets flash with excitement.

"It went well! I mean, besides my brother kind of-maybe-sort of-possibly not liking Miss Human very much, it went well!" Papyrus brightly explains, causing Alan's brown eyes to widen slightly in concern before they drift over to where you sit. Your eyes refuse to meet his out of anxiety. Shit, what _else_ is this happy ass skeleton going to tell your crush...?!

"Oh? Why doesn't he like (Name)? She's really nice. I've been around her for a couple years now and she's never done anyone any harm. I remember one time we had a huge black widow in our math class during sophomore year and (Name) totally caught it and put it outside, even after everyone else said they wanted it dead," Alan says with a fond smile, causing your cheeks to dust a light shade of red at his words. He looks back at you and lightly laughs when you finally lift your face to look at him. "I always thought that was really kindhearted and brave of you."

You can only squeak in response as your cheeks turn red, causing Alan to laugh a little more before he reaches out and puts a hand behind your neck, rubbing the skin with gentle kneading motions. You can barely believe what he's saying, much less what he's doing. He's being so... So...! So _Alan!_ Where did this guy come from?! This can't be really happening, there's no way he actually said what he said just now...!

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you! I've just always admired you from afar is all. I mean, it takes a lot to do your own thing and not follow the crowd. You've never let anyone here tell you what to do," Alan pauses to look over at Papyrus with a big grin. "I'm sure _you_ know pretty well about that too, don't you, Paps? You look like a natural born leader, after all."

Papyrus face lights up like a million stars.

"S-Sir Human! Could it be... You would like to be my friend _too?!"_ Papyrus gasps in awe. Next thing you know, the tall skeleton has snatched your smart phone out of your pocket, unlocking the code easily to furiously text someone. "I must inform my brother of this momentous occasion!"

You crack a smile at Papyrus antics for a moment, but as soon as you remember the skeletal disposition of his arms and head, you shake the smile off and sigh a little. Alan is still rubbing the back of your neck... And it feels nice.

"Thanks," you say to the freckled male beside you, who offers you a kind smile in return as he finally removes his hand and relieves you of his intoxicating affectionate touch.

"You're very welcome, (Name)," he says with a gentle tone, the same patient one he'd used for Alphys back at _Redbox_. He must have noticed how nervous you are around him... How embarrassing.

Your cheeks redden again, but you quickly turn away so he doesn't see. Alan seems to be under the impression that you don't listen to anyone, huh? Well... It's _partially_ true. If there's anyone you've generally obeyed without question or complaint, it has to be Libby's parents. Even when some of their orders were... _Questionable._

"So, Paps, what's your brother's name?" Alan returns his attention to Papyrus as soon as the skeleton lowers your phone, facing the two of you again with a bright smile.

"Oh, his name is Sans!" Papyrus pipes up in excitement, before his smile drops and he side glances in exasperation again. Alan's eyebrows rise up at this about-face, but Papyrus soon looks back at him. "He's _reeealllly_ lazy. Extremely unmotivated, to say in the least. He's also overprotective and has a problem with hoarding socks and garbage! Honestly, who knows what he'd do without someone as great as me around to set him straight...!" Papyrus calmly reasons before the door to the classroom is pushed open forcefully enough to slam against the wall, cutting off any and all conversations within the classroom.

Some students flinch at this, including Papyrus and Alan, but all the slam from the door does to _you_ is make your back straighten and your expression harden as your eyes seek out the figure Mr. Gerard, the CIS professor who's class you passed with such an outstanding grade that he'd suggested you become his teacher aid the following semester. Since you need something like that to sweeten up your transcript, you agreed and the two of you got everything set up for this semester.

However... Considering his absence on Monday during the introductory tours for monsters enrolling into Ebott Creek College...

Professor Gerard glances around the classroom from the doorway with his suitcase at hand as if looking for something or scouting for any potential danger. When his old, fifty-year-old eyes land on Papyrus though, he stares from his location unabashedly. Papyrus doesn't seem to understand the blank look he's getting form the professor, so he raises a hand and waves brightly in clear hopes of relaxing the Professor by showing his benevolent side to him.

 _He's definitely a racist too,_ you think when the Professor's expression twitches in annoyance at the sight of Papyrus, causing the skeleton to immediately pull his hand back down. He may look like he's alright, but with a closer inspection on your part, you notice the small- nearly indiscernible pellets of tangy sweat beginning to appear behind his skull in little beady spheres. _Papyrus is nervous... He must have noticed the Professor doesn't like him._

You lean closer towards Papyrus and rub his arm a little, prompting him to look down at your relaxed face when you look back at him. This doesn't mean you suddenly like monsters, no way... But you certainly don't want him returning to Sans crying his eyes out. Especially since Sans knows the two of you have the same class. Sans will kill you if something even _remotely_ devastating happens to Papyrus on your watch... Which sucks, since you don't want to have to walk on eggshells around the tall skeleton.

Papyrus seems to relax at your touch, but you make sure to remove your hand before anyone gets the wrong idea about the two of you. It's bad enough that Papyrus _himself_ has the wrong idea about it, which is weird since he's already admitted that he knows you dislike monsters.

You can't fathom what could possibly make him want to continue with the upcoming date.

You share a look with Alan when you see him turn his head to look at you. He looks annoyed by the professor's attitude as well... Though you assume Alan has much more pure reasons for it than you do for your annoyance towards the professor. If anything, your just worried that his prejudice might affect how he grades Papyrus- which in turn will affect _your_ grade once the school gets their hands on the

"Hello, class," Professor Gerard speaks up as he continues to walk on over to his desk, leaving out an introduction despite there being a new student present. He introduced himself a second time last Wednesday when there was a new _human_ student... But it appears he isn't going to follow that trend for a monster.

 _This is going to be tedious as hell,_ you think, bringing a hand up to press your face into your palm in exasperation.

Before Alan can point out the professor's behavior, some other guy in the class speaks up to let him know. "Hey, Professor, we have a new student..."

 The professor visibly stiffens as he is taking things out of his suitcase, eyes flicking back over to Papyrus, who no longer appears as nervous as he initially did.

"Hm. So it seems..." The professor states with an unidentifiable tone, straightening and meeting Papyrus gaze unflinchingly. "I am the CIS Professor, Mr. Gerard. Welcome."

He does not ask Papyrus for his name, but Papyrus decidedly brushes this indifference with a bright smile. Seems like there's nothing that's going to stop him from being his annoyingly boisterous self.

"Hello, Professor!" He speaks up cordially, causing many other students from the corner of your eye to smile and giggle as they watch him greet the cold professor.

As you look around the classroom at the other students, it appears that this class is mostly made up of humans that are pro-monster... With the occasional racist in a corner here and there.

...This including yourself.

The professor nods at Papyrus before continuing his ministrations of extracting his oh-so-important documents out of his suitcase. For another minute or two, you wait to see if another monster is going to show up. Crossing your fingers that no other non-human passes through the classroom door...

...

You let out a quiet breath you didn't realize you were holding, standing up to walk past Alan and speak to the Professor about lending you his office again.

** BAM! **

"...My bad," a voice speaks up from the once again slammed doorway, the second sound to cause nearly the entire classroom to flinch. Even _you_ flinch this time, because you don't expect it.

With an flat expression that hides the absolute fear that wants to appear on your face, you turn to look at the doorway. You're praying it's another human with all your heart, but by the gasps of the other human students, there's a high chance that it most definitely _isn't_ a human.

Lucky you though!

...As in, what are the _fucking chances._

Standing at the doorway is a tall figure wearing an orange zip up sweater with the logo of _MTT_ across the front, clad in black jeans and a black back pack slung over one shoulder. On his feet are a pair of red and white high top sneakers with the laces pushed lazily into his shoes, but neither seems like they're about to fall of either foot as he steps into the classroom, hood pulled up over his head and covering a majority of his face.

You'd be pressed to think he was a human if it wasn't for the long tangy tail swirling about quickly around his legs in agitation and the rumpled fur of his neck.

Next thing you know, he takes his hood off to reveal his catty features, including a dark pink nose, long whiskers along his muzzle, and the two perky ears atop his head that twitch and spin in every direction a whisper is heard.

Papyrus lets out a gasp beside you, sitting up more in clear recognition of whoever this cat person is. As the cat monster turns to face Papyrus, you watch as his feline eyes flash in pure alarm. You glance from him to Papyrus and back with Alan, before you share a look of confusion with your crush.

Papyrus opens his mouth, the cat monster sputtering in panic and stepping forward quickly to (obviously) shut the skeleton up.

"BURGERPANTS!" Papyrus blurts out, much to yours, Alan's, and the rest of the class's confusion.

The cat monster freezes in his advance to shut the skeleton up before slapping his hands (paws?) over his face, taking a moment to throw his arms up and wave them around furiously at the oblivious skeleton, and then drop them as he slouches and nods in resignation.

"...Yeah, _hi_. Please never call me that again," the cat monster says with an exasperated look across his face as he relaxes once again.

"What? You mean Bur-?" Papyrus begins with a puzzled expression, causing the cat monster's eyes to stare at him in clear warning that the skeleton seems to not notice. For someone who claims not to be stupid... Well...

"Okay, Paps, give me a second please," you cut the skeleton off, much to the cat monster's relief as you continue over to the professor's desk to quietly speak to him.

You can vaguely hear Alan asking the cat monster what his name actually is with a soft voice, prompting Papyrus to quietly repeat 'Burgerpants'. There is a groan from behind you, but you do your best to ignore it and deal with the issue at hand.

"Professor... May I use your office again so I can get them caught up?" You ask carefully, studying the old man's face.

Professor Gerard opens his mouth for a moment, before closing it again and looking down at his suitcase in thought. After another second, he pulls the keys to his office from his suitcase and hands them over to you wordlessly. He looks about as thrilled as you are.

With a quiet nod of acceptance, you turn and face Papyrus and... BP.

"Come on, you two. We're going to get you caught up with the class material before you try and integrate with the other students here," you say, making Papyrus grin and stand up to make his way to the exit with the grumbling and slightly confused BP trailing behind him.

 _This is going to be a long day..._ You think, looking back one more time at Alan.

He's already looking at you when you turn, and you can't help but notice the momentary surprise on his face from being caught- until he smiles and waves to you as you step out with a wave and stupid grin of your own.

You nearly run into the doorframe when you turn back to walk out of the classroom, but you quickly cover your embarrassment by exiting and closing the door behind you with a red face. Your heart is beating at a rapid pace and the heat radiating from your face is almost faint inducing when paired with your slightly uneven breathing.

Was he looking at you? Eyeing you the way you eye him when _he's_ not looking? You almost ran into the _doorway_ in front of him...!

 _Idiot...!_ You chastise yourself with a grimace of annoyance

"...You okay, little buddy?"

Your head snaps back up when you remember where you are, only to meet the curious gazes of the two tall monsters waiting for you to lead them to the professor's office. Papyrus is still the tallest living being you've ever set your eyes on, but BP appears to come close, standing at just a head shorter than him.

Both are staring at you, BP in confusion and Papyrus in concern that slightly unnerves you for some reason.

You straighten up and cough away your embarrassment, facing them and nodding firmly with a strict disposition.

"Follow me," you say, turning away from them to start walking towards your new destination.

"Alrighty, Miss Human!" Papyrus audibly states, while BP simply grunts in affirmation.

The walk to the office is in no way stuffy or tense as the tall skeleton converses with the mostly silent BP beside him, who only answers with short answers and noises in response to Papyrus. Somehow, you're sort of relieved that the professor didn't shut down Papyrus upbeat personality- it'd have really sucked if the walk to the office was awkward and stuff... You'd much rather endure the annoying skeleton talking about the _amazing_ _date_ he would be having with his 'Miss Human' than-

Hey, wait _a freaking-_!

 _"'Date'?"_ BP asks with disguised interest, the barely visibly darker stripes over each eye rising as his amber-green cat eyes turn to look over towards you as you turn to face them in shock. "So... You're going out on a date with a _monster?_ That's pretty gutsy of you, little buddy."

You catch the slight implications of his words as he speaks, sending slight shivers down your spine when it reminds you of how Sans speaks to you. This cat monster doesn't believe you actually want to go on this date with Papyrus... And sure, he's totally right.

However, he definitely has no right to play the guess-if-the-human's-a-little-shit game when he _barely_ just met you no less than ten minutes prior. You frown and give the cat monster a sharp glare, relishing at the way his fur slightly puffs up like a rustled cat's would when threatened. Yeah, that's right... Two can play at this little game.

The three of you have stopped walking at this point, you and BP glaring at each other unblinkingly until Papyrus steps in between the two of you, facing BP with a nervous grin.

"Indeed, she is a brave human to challenge my date power! She is obviously charming and sweet, but you need to acquaint yourself with her a little longer till those aspects of her person truly shine! Now," Papyrus spins around to face you now that BP's attitude has somewhat quelled, but instead of finding a glare still pinned to your face, you're staring up at him with a curious expression of expectancy. He seems surprised at how quickly your temper has thawed out, but makes no real show of it other than the momentary flash that crosses his skeletal face for a beat of a second as he continues with, "Let us all make way to the professor's office and congregate on the matters of Computer Information Systems. Yes?"

Papyrus shoots a hopeful look towards BP behind him who, after a second of shuffling his feet a little, sighs in resignation.

"Fine. Let's go then," BP agrees much to Papyrus' enthusiasm.

"Great! Lead the way for Burgerpants and I, Miss Human!"

"UGH!"

You resist the urge to giggle, but crack a bit of a smile at the absolutely hateful look on BP's face towards Papyrus pose of contentment as you quickly turn to lead them away. BP seems to notice the smile, but you're already facing the opposite direction and walking before he can point it out or say anything.

_Stop. They're monsters. They're vile creatures that should have stayed under Mt. Ebott. Quit encouraging their behavior._

* * *

 

 

 

**(Hours Later)**

"So you're telling me she can bend around like a rubber band...? That's... Kind of cool and weird at the same time," BP speaks nonchalantly as he bites into a sandwich in his elongated hand-like paws, walking beside you and Papyrus as you walk them to their next shared class.

You bite your lip as you stare ahead stone-faced and annoyed by the turn of events. You finished the first session of getting them more or less caught up, but plan to have another meet up out of the CIS hours to get them caught up on what they missed today. The set date is tomorrow after your biology class in the morning.

So if you are no longer in need of explaining computer facts and having them show what they've learned... Why haven't you left to deal with the other pressing matters at the school, like conversing with other class leaders on the latest school issues to pick up with the staff at the community college? Well... _Papyrus is Papyrus._

Is there any other explanation that can sum up the reason as well as the simple mention of his _name_ can? This guy just doesn't take _'no'_ for an answer!

Even when you tried to scurry off before BP and Papyrus could finish putting their things away, Papyrus came up with the _perfect_ excuse to make you tag along with him.

"(Name)! By the way, would you mind escorting the two of us to our next class? I would hate for the two of us to be late due to getting lost in this labyrinth of a college campus!"

And as the Sophomore Class President in charge of taking care of students- in your class and most other classes since the other Presidents are complete _shit_ at their student duties- you ended up turning back around to find a sincere smile on Papyrus' face and a smug look of amusement on BP's.

Then and there, you wished you had a spray bottle to squirt water at Booger-pant's face.

Or better yet, a high pressured garden hose.

"Absolutely!" Papyrus voice snaps you out of your thoughts as he turns to look at you on BP's other side, flashing you a pleading smile that radiates enough light and sugary-shit to make you wanna vomit in aggravation. "Miss Human! Could you please do something cool?!"

"No," you deadpan rudely, watching the skeleton's expression waver in despondence for a moment.

You're half shocked at the pang of guilt that slams into your chest full force, barely noticing the slight chuckle that escapes BP when his eyes land on your face. Flustered at your emotions and looking for an alternative to quickly hide that you're feeling such a way, you let out a groan of surrender and give in.

"Fine, _whatever._ Hold my binder," you snap heatedly, shoving it towards Papyrus and hiding your exasperated expression as you step back from them in one of the outdoor paths around the math building on campus. You spare a quick, nervous glance around to make sure there aren't too many people, only taking a deep breath when you note the few around to be far too involved in their own devices to really notice you.

With that settled, you pull at the waistband of your charcoal sports designed sweatpants a bit and look at the unforgiving cement ground until you decide your gig is best done on the grass. You give a heavy sigh and raise one leg straight up against your straightened chest like it's nothing, watching BP's eyes and Papyrus' sockets flash in slight awe as you hold it up... And then promptly do the same with your other leg.

After that, you gracefully cartwheel forward towards the grassy terrain surrounding the path around the building, stopping at a particularly leveled section of smooth moss and bending backwards so you're on all fours in an arched crabwalk. You can hear Papyrus muffled squeal of glee as you proceed to bend backwards even farther, until your front is at level with the ground and your shoulder blades are centimeters from touching your ass. Your toes point on their tiptoes as you bring your elbows up to rest your face in your hands nonchalantly, staring BP and Papyrus dead in the eye with a less than excited disposition.

Seconds tick by, and BP's jaw drops in horror along with the last bite of his sandwich. Even Papyrus looks completely shocked by your performance this time.

Whispers from other people around flitter into your ears, but you ignore it as you immediately pull back out of position and fix your clothes and play off your discomfort of doing such acts in public. You're not sure whether the whispers are about your sudden display or not, but you'd like to believe that they aren't.

Libby's step-mom always hated when you did those kinds of things... She said they were unnatural and that you shouldn't do them in public under _any_ circumstances, or you'd scare people away. Until you'd done it in front of Papyrus and Undyne though, you'd always believed her.

Somehow... You're starting to think people think quite the opposite about contortioning.

"Holy shit, she really _is_ a human rubber band," BP states after picking up his fallen meal and tossing it in a nearby trash bin.

"You two really _are_ gonna be late if you keep ogling at me like that..." you huff as you rudely snatch your binder from Papyrus, just a little irritated at the fact that he managed to make you feel _guilty_ again. First Alphys did it, and now this skeleton idiot? You need to get rid of them fast, before they stick around thinking you _actually_ like them.

You... Might have to get tough with them if they don't eventually start to get the message you're trying to send across to them.

Vile creatures.

"It's just gym... How strict can the Physical Ed. teacher be?" BP asks rhetorically, reaching back to scratch the back of his head as his eyes continue to flick down towards you with even more curiosity than before. "Have you always been able to move like that?"

"Indeed she has! She has told us that not many humans can do it. What a wonderful gift, wouldn't you say, Miss Human?" Papyrus asks brightly, ignoring the fact that you're miffed to the point that you don't even want to answer any more questions.

"Hm," BP hums, looking away from you to start eating out of a bag of _Hot Cheetos_ he must have pulled out of his backpack when you weren't watching. Papyrus gives the cat monster a side glance of disapproval.

"Eating before engaging in physical activities... That will greatly impair your abilities during our exercise regiments," Papyrus comments, while you start walking in the direction of their class to lead them along. They follow without much complaint.

"I've got things handled no problem, chill. Gotta eat _sometime,_ " BP states, speaking around a mouthful of spicy chips while Papyrus visibly winces and makes a face of exaggerated disgust.

You offer them a look of confusion at Papyrus words, this time making sure they notice so that they can explain. Papyrus jumps at the wordless query as soon as he looks over at you, losing any and all disgust from his features as he walks closer to you.

"A monster will not be impaired by eating before physical activities the same way a human would! Whereas humans might bear the risk of losing their lunch-" Papyrus begins quickly as if reciting from one of the many college textbooks of the school, causing BP to make a hiss of disgust from your other side as the two monsters sandwich you between them on the way to their class. "-Monsters will have an impairment in the potency of their magic! And due to magic being the majority of our entire beings, it may cause slight discomfort when moving- resulting in many monsters to become groggy and lazy as soon as energy recovered is immediately lost! Hence why, it is not recommended that monsters eat before physical activity. Especially when said monster is training for the royal guard. I once heard a monster fell due to such issues... I believe he might now be part of Endogeny...? Hm. Not too sure on that one."

You take a brief moment to wonder about what he means by 'Endogeny', but shake off your curiosity to save what's left of your sanity after being stuck around these idiot monsters. Quit asking them questions.

The rest of the walk is filled with somewhat entertaining banter between Papyrus and BP as they talk about monster issues and recent happenings around their areas. For a while, you're so busy brooding at your luck that you tune them out... When you finally tune back into their conversation, you catch something from BP that is both interesting and morbid at the same time.

"...gotten pretty bad there. Just yesterday a monster was dusted in a park after daylight, and no one seems to know what happened. I think there are also rumors goin' around that the monster dust they found was weird? No one seems to know what monster the dust is from, but King Asgore is looking into it right now. I guess we'd better watch our backs, eh?" BP says with such a nonchalance at the fact that even _you_ can't help but stop walking to look up at him in astonishment and horror.

" _What?_ Aren't you worried? There was a murder and you're just going to shake it off like _that?"_ You ask, shaken by the news just a smidgen. Your mind immediately flips back to the nightmare you'd had the night before and you reflexively shiver as your hand subconsciously finds its way up to your throat.

No one was around in your dream... No one heard you choking on dust... No one saw you fall apart and becoming _nothing..._

_Just like **that** dust pile that was once a monster._

BP turns to face you, nonplussed by your sudden flurry of questions as he meets your eyes straight on. Meanwhile, Papyrus just watches nervously, as if you've just gone and signed your death certificate. You wonder if he looks like that because maybe BP is a stronger monster than you originally assume.

You seriously need to watch your mouth around monsters. Someday, you're going to insult one to the point that they attack you.

"Why? Little buddy, you should already know by now. Monsters have no rights. Monsters don't matter. Quiet murders and violence towards monsters have been occurring since we first stepped out from under the mountain. We're not safe anywhere now. Not even if we all decided to pick up our shit and return under the mountain- which by the way, is _not_ going to happen. Personally, I refuse to spend the rest of my time up here worrying about getting murdered. Either it will happen, or it won't. In the end, it wouldn't even matter anyways. Humans out number monsters, and history is written by the victors. We're all going to eventually be forgotten along with that pile of dust at the park after we're gone," BP answers you straight-faced, immediately looking away to show his refusal to see any other point in the conversation. "...As a human from _that_ side of the fence with monster issues, what does it even matter to you?"

Your stomach flips about in rage, but it's not directed at BP at all. Of course he noticed that you dislike monsters... However, that doesn't make you one of _those_ kinds of racists _,_ the kind that will dust a monster just because they're different or bothersome. You can _barely_ kill a fly without feeling that stab of guilt, so you often opt to wave them out the door or window half the time.

You briefly wonder how you came to feel that way towards life and death.

"...If I dislike anything more than monsters, it's _murder,"_ you spit out upfront with a slight snarl to your expression, turning away as well when you see Papyrus exuberantly hopeful expression and BP's eyes snap up to try and study you. You don't want them to think you're starting to like them- you just _hate_ the act of ending lives. You've always believed that everyone has the right to live, and even if you think monsters were better off left under the mountain, at least they'd still be _alive._

Fighting the urge to turn around and see what their expressions are, you walk just a little faster in hopes of reacquiring a foothold on your cold mask of indifference. Neither of the monsters behind you speak as you lead them around the last building and catch sight of the many sports fields that make up the physical classes of Ebott Creek College.

"HEY, NERDS!"

You reflexively dive down to your knees and lean back as the muscular figure of a feminine monster fish soars over head, crashing straight into Papyrus when BP literally jumps a good seven feet in the air out of surprise to avoid her. You look up to find BP standing low on all fours beside you, fur puffed up like a startled housecat and eyes narrowed behind you as you look back to see Undyne flip Papyrus back against her, knuckles brutally rubbing into the smooth curvature of Papyrus' skull.

"No! Not in front of the _human!"_ Papyrus wails at the mercy of Undyne, who only cackles wildly with a crazy look in her eye.

"ALWAYS in front of the human! GAHAHAHA!" Undyne shouts, while you stand back up with BP at your side. Both of you still look wary of her, and take a few steps back in case she decides she wants to do the same to you two.

After assaulting Papyrus a bit more, she drops him like a sack of potatoes to breathe on the ground heavily, her single gold eye trailing up to you and BP like a predator.

"Hey, Burgs," she comments to BP, who only face palms and grumbles back a greeting of annoyance.

Her eyes jump to you and she grins even wider, bearing all her sharp barracuda-like teeth with malicious glee. "Girl-lie...~" She says in a slight sing-song voice, inching closer to you and prompting you to begin backing up nervously.

_Run._

"W-well, I led Papyrus and BP here. I'm off-" you quickly fumble with your words, turning away to escape out of the school rather than stay and attend to your usual duties on campus. You only take one step in the opposite direction before a cyan harpoon spear crashes into the cement a few inches in your path, sending bits of the rock in your face before you turn back around to face Undyne with an uncharacteristically pale face. "...Oooor I could stay a little while."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh NOSE (lol)! Looks like something Libby has said about you to Sans doesn't quite match up! I wonder what could have compelled her to say something like that...?
> 
> *wink wink*
> 
> *Hugs and mistletoe kissies for all*
> 
> Links:  
> [Lost Appetite Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	13. Be Nicer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is a professional asshat, and apparently you're really good at running.

Chapter 13: Be Nicer

 

**(Around 12:30 in the Afternoon)**

 

Sans has learned so much about you just by reading the first quarter of your diary entries. A good chunk of the diary is chock full of the most mundane of entries, and despite this, Sans still find them entertaining enough to read. In fact, he almost forgets that this journal belongs to _you_ altogether at some points.

Somehow, you've managed to make almost every entry hilarious just by the way you write it. Your vocabulary usage, the way you _write_ things, even the fact that you make every incident overdramatic- yet not to a crazy level- makes the diary such a funny read for Sans.

You're a hard worker and like learning things like it's some kind of soda addiction. Your favorite movie is a film called _The Nightmare Before Christmas,_ which stars (ironically) a skeleton monster. One of your favorite things to do is swim- especially at the beach.

Apparently, you're quite a pro with the flute. You're also an incredible dancer, thanks to your flexibility- something you've mentioned in writing that Libby is quite envious of yet enchanted by at the same time. According to your written entry from when you were fourteen, Libby and her mother pushed you to be a dancer more than they pushed you to play the flute.

You obviously prefer the flute to dancing, but have expressed a love for both. By the looks of your entries regarding the arts, by the time you were fifteen, your flute was taken and Libby's parents pushed you to dance more. Your entries state that you were okay with this, because Libby's parents insisted that Libby would be able to shine more as a pianist and you'd shine as a dancer for her compositions.

The way your written letters become crooked and unlike your usual perfect script, tells Sans you weren't as chill with this change as you said you were.

Sans feels slight pity for you as he reads this entry when you lose your flute... Maybe even a little guilty for all his harassing from the night before. No, he still doesn't like or trust you, but it seems like you've been through some serious self-esteem attacks. Worse, it's coming from two people who you trusted to treat you as nice as they treat their own child.

Sans eye lights narrow lazily on a new entry, and he begins reading intently, expecting something mundane once again.

**_ Thurdsay: April 19th, 20XX _ **

_ 'Libby's mom and dad told me not to put too much effort in my dancing because it looks better than Libby's piano skills. I don't understand why the heck they think that though... Libby is incredible on the keys. She sounds so perfect. All I'm doing is prancing around on a stage and sweating like an ape.' _

Sans snorts with laughter, his previous frown dissipating as he presses the top of his skull against your diary and laughs out loud. There it is again- your funky way of talking. You didn't talk much back at Undyne's and Alphys' place though, did you? No... You only spoke when pushed to or when necessary to explain something- and even then it usually wasn't anything as long as these diary entries. Last night, you only spouted a sentence or two at a time. Even Libby has expressed to Sans that you're regularly very quiet... Is that why you can use sign language? Because sometimes you feel like Frisk and don't want to talk? How odd... Humans are so strange.

He'll have to ask Libby about the reasons for why you can speak sign language, because it doesn't appear as if you have written anything down about your sign language fluency.

 _ 'I'll do it for Libby though. I don't mind if people pay more attention to her. I want her to be happy because she makes  _ me _happy.'_

Sans brings the diary close to his face again as he reads that line again, right before sitting up straight and looking around your bedroom with wide eye sockets. This isn't right... You don't sound homicidal at _all._

Where are all the entries about you experimenting pain on animals? Where are all the hateful entries about your family? Why are you so compliant with Libby's _clearly_ shitty parents? You're _literally_ a pushover to them!

You sound like...

... Like a closet _marshmallow_.

... Like you're one of Alphys' weird  _tsundere_ anime girls from her favorite programs.

Does Libby know how much you care about her? Does she know the extent in which your diary describes it? Because...

No. No, that doesn't matter. Libby said you explicitly stated you wanted to see how it felt to dust a monster. He can't take any chances if you end up getting curious and attacking his brother or one of his friends... Or _any_ monster in general.

Sans reads through a few more entries to relax his wound up nerves... Until he gets to another interesting entry.

**_ Wednesday: December 21st, 20XX _ **

_ 'Oh my god. It's four in the morning. I was freaking sleepwalking! I don't know how I got out of bed or anything, but I woke up maybe a half an hour ago at the pier. I could have walked right off of there and gotten taken out to sea, ohmygod. That thing literally stretches ten or fifteen meters out from the shore and in towards the big freaking blue. I've never sleepwalked before, this is really bad. If Libby's parents find out, they're going to get mad at me again and Libby will be upset that I've gone and caused trouble before one of her big piano recitals  _ again _, and... And then they're going to start accusing me of being jealous again. I don't want them to think that. I'm not even remotely as phenomenal as Libby- and I don't want to be. Libby should be the star, I don't care if I fade into the background. I'm fine with this. I'm okay with this. Libby has worked for recognition since she first started taking piano classes as a kid. I don't want to take that away from her.'_

You sleepwalked once... And apparently your devotion to Libby is a lot stronger than Sans originally imagined it to be. Why are you so attached to her though? Sure, Sans enjoys Libby's presence more than he enjoys the presence of most people- especially for someone he's only known for a few days, but he's not devoted to her like you are or anything, let alone crushing on her like she is crushing on him. Is it that you two grew up together then?

... Sans presumes he can see how you'd be devoted to Libby so much, considering how much Sans cares and admires his awesome bro, Papyrus. Who actually has an obvious crush on Libby, despite the fact that he's going on a date with _you._

Honestly, Sans would feel a lot better if his brother were going on a date with Libby instead of you. When the two of you finally decide on a night for the date, he's going to have to spy and keep watch just in case you end up trying to knife Papyrus by the end of the date.

Anyways, besides that...

This entry just screams that you weren't treated as nicely as Libby was though. Her parents got _mad_ at you when you did something _out of your control?_ Shouldn't they have been trying to get you help? Or maybe you wrote this before you asked them and it turned out okay afterwards?

**_ Thursday: December 22nd, 20XX _ **

_ 'I told them about what happened last night anyways... Libby's mom called me a liar and says I need to stop trying to act out to get attention. I knew it would be a bad idea to tell them. Now even Libby is a little angry at me. She believed me the last two times during the Midwinter Piano Recitals, but now she says she thinks it's to coincidental.' _

Okay... So apparently it didn't turn out well after all.

Sans closes the diary again and locks it back up with his magic and a sigh of resignation, tossing it back in its original place by your pillow. Papyrus gets out of class at around one... And his last class of the day is Physical Fitness. He could probably pop in at the school to see what that energetic brother of his is doing- since he's got nothing better to do at the moment.

The skeleton monster on your bed spins to throw his legs off the side of your bed in a single fluid motion, pulling his phone out to re-read his last message from his brother, one that had originally sent waves of aggravation rippling within him when he first read it.

_'Brother! It is I, The Great Papyrus, infiltrating your inbox to request that you be nicer to Miss Human! That is all.'_

_'...PLEASE CONSIDER IT, NYEEHH...!'_

Sans shoves his phone back into his pocket with a bit of a smile, amused by his brother's usual heartwarming antics. His brother was so cool.

Sans blinks, revealing one single eye light that pulsates a blue and gold glow.

"Maybe..." He mutters under his breath, before he vanishes in the blink of an eye without so much as a sound upon leaving. Hey, even _he_ can be sneaky... If he wasn't such a lazy ass, that is.

* * *

 

"What was your name again?"

"...It's (Name)," you reply dryly, eyes never shifting from the monster duo currently speeding like a pair of road runners through a four lap run. The wind picks up as they pass by you and the fitness trainer beside you, Professor Burt, who watches the skeleton and fish monster pair on awe with slightly wide eyes. Dirt kicks up from the burst of air, but the fitness teacher is nonplussed as he watches the two continue past, his bun of brown and gold hair moving with the wind.

"Uh-huh..." Professor Burt trails off as his eyes fall upon the monster with no drive to run whatsoever- the feline taking a drag from his cigarette as he casually strolls alongside some other lazy students unwilling to exercise. Three girls from behind are giggling and whispering to each other, pointing at the cat monster discreetly as they walk.

On the bright side, at least most of the students around here are nice... Not that you really care or anything though. It's just nice that the air isn't stuffy with tension between monster lovers and racists...

"Have those two always been able to run like that? Or are they eating something special?" Professor Burt asks next, reaching behind to scratch the back of his neck as he raises an eyebrow in your direction. You frown but make no move to meet his gaze since you're locked on watching the two monsters run like mad.

"No. That's all them," you simply answer.

** POP! **

"Hey, _(Name),_ I wasn't expecting you to still be hanging around my bro and Undyne."

Your spine goes erect in alarm, but your stoic expression gives nothing away. You could recognize that chilling, gravelly voice in a crowd even if they were just whispering in your ear. Questioning their presence is pointless now, but...

What in the _holy hell_ is _Sans_ doing here?!

You only grunt in response, crossing your arms with added tension as you watch the two fastest monsters getting close towards their eighth round. Funny, they only had to do four rounds in total... And yet they're still running. They're close to finishing double the required laps- before even the fastest _humans_ have finished their mere fourth round.

Whatever Sans wants has to do with those two... Not you. Hopefully, if that's the case, he won't try and bother you this time. You'll consider yourself lucky if he drops one insulting quip and leaves you alone afterwards.

You think you hear him huff beside you at your silent response.

"...Fed your kitty cat by the way. He's **furry** nice... Unlike you," he mutters the last part so only you can hear it, but you don't answer or look at him- even though you really want to nod and laugh at his clever cat pun. Better to not acknowledge his presence for the sake of your sanity...

... **Sans-** ity.

...

... STOP IT.

"...? And you are?" Professor Burt asks, leaning around you to look at the new monster in the vicinity. Sans, in response, moves out of the corner of your eye to glance around you as well. When they spot each other, you notice Sans' grin widening in lazy delight.

"... HELLO, BROTHER! I am most pleased that you decided to venture out to the school early BEFORE YOUR CLASS...!" Papyrus shouts rather quickly as he passes the three of you with Undyne, once again kicking up air and dirt as they run on by with no sign of either stopping or slowing down. Him and Undyne are soon out of speaking range before anyone can add their input to Papyrus' words.

"...You heard him. Sans is the name. Sans the skeleton," the annoying monster beside you answers, holding a hand out in front of you in offering for Professor Burt on your other side. You make a face of slight disdain at the way the skeleton gets in your zone, but instead of snapping at him, you impatiently settle with waiting for it to be over.

"I see. It's very nice to meet y-" Professor Burt begins until...

**_ PBBBFFFFFT!! _ **

Your eyes actually widen a smidgen and your expression switches to that of a bewildered look at the sound of a well hidden whoopee cushion, irises bouncing down to the clasped hands of Sans and Professor Burt in disbelief. Honestly though, you shouldn't be surprised at all... Sans is _so_ immature.

"... SEE, MISS HUMAN?! Aren't you glad I warned you about shaking his hand? Please forgive my brother for his immaturity, I promise HE'S NOT AS BAD AS HE SEEMS...!" Papyrus is yelling rapidly as he passes on to complete his ninth lap with the completely focused Undyne charging forward alongside him.

Sans releases Professor Burt's hand to offer you a strange look while the professor proceeds to laugh as a result of Sans' prank, but you hide your face by pointedly turning away to continue watching Undyne and Papyrus in their run.

At this point, BP is finally passing on his second lap with the three curious girls from before now closer, who giggle girlishly as they wildly jump around him to watch his ears and tail move. He doesn't seem too bothered by the ladies, and you can't help but quirk an eyebrow in surprise as he meets your gaze momentarily. Your eyes flick from the girls and back to him, but other than a reddish tint of his face under his already bronze-like fur, he just shoots you a _'shut up'_ glare.

Huh. Who knew monsters could find humans _actually_ attractive.

It's then that BP's eyes spot Sans as he's about to pass Professor Burt and I, causing his expression to quickly shift into annoyance. BP ducks his head a little and speeds up in an attempt to get past him without being noticed. Unfortunately for BP, the world seems to be out to relentlessly embarrass him.

"Hey, Burgerpants," Sans comments from beside you with a bit of a naughty smirk, causing BP's tail to begin wildly swishing behind him as he turns his head to let out a hiss at Sans.

At this, Sans just laughs a little in amusement, watching the cat monster hurry past before slowing when he's at a good distance. To BP's credit, this only makes the three girls hovering around him giggle and stick closer to him, one petting him under his chin, the second linking her arm with his on his right, and the third playing around to catch his tail much like a kitten. If BP likes this attention, you and Sans are both unaware of it, but his tail soon calms back down to its usual slow swishing.

You sigh as you watch BP passing, reaching up to rub one of your temples in frustration regarding your situation.

_I really just want to go home already- I know staying will only result in Undyne dragging me back to her place... Or teasing me by taking me to back to my home to grab more things, only to then drag me back to her place after that to continue this torture!_

By now, the fastest humans have finally finished their four laps, all of them breathing heavily with uneven pants as they check their watches and enviously eye Papyrus' and Undyne's seemingly limitless energy.

"...You don't talk much, do you?" Sans asks you with a knowing tone, despite your clear efforts to show that you don't want to talk to him. He doesn't expect you to answer, by the sound of it. He's just talking to you to annoy you...

_Ugh, go away!_

Your lips stay perpetually sealed. You have no reason or desire to communicate with Sans anymore. He locked you out of Undyne's and Alphys' home in the middle of the night, he made a joke about you being a bitch, and he's convinced you're the worst because you dislike monsters. What _else_ can you say for yourself?

'Cause you _are_ kind of a bitch to many people...

You are the worst- and you _do_ hate monsters...

But at least you're not a _murderer,_ like whoever killed that unknown monster at the park BP was talking about... The monster who's now just a... Just...

You swallow thickly at the thought. Suddenly you're feeling a bit nauseous, and your throat slightly spasms with a single gag.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Professor Burt asks, placing a hand on your back when your hand flies up to touch your throat in alarm. For a second, you think you're about to lose your lunch and get down on your knees to take a breather. After some comforting back rubbing from the fitness professor, you eventually calm down and shake away the memory of your nightmare from the night before.

"I'm... I'm fine," you reply, hands still hovering close to your throat nervously.

"Stay here and don't stand up, I'm going to grab you some water real quick," the professor says, turning away to start jogging towards an ice chest near the blacktop by a building where the locker rooms reside. You watch as he leaves, until you can see him visibly digging through the ice chest to find you something to drink.

Bad dreams have never affected you this way before, so it's a bit disconcerting to say in the least... In fact, you're still having momentary shivers.

"Hey, sweet tart, you don't look too good..." Sans speaks to you again, causing you to finally glance up at him in shock. As you look up at Sans, who has his hands stuffed in the front pocket of his red pullover hoodie, you feel your stomach churn. To your mild shock, he actually looks... A little concerned. Whenever someone else shows concern for you, especially when they barely know you, you always feel warm and fuzzy as a result. Lord knows you are seriously lacking in TLC from people other than just _Libby._

But this coming from _Sans?_ It feels like a slap in the face.

 _He's been an asshole since we met. Since we first spoke to each other over text... And_ now _he's going to be worried about my well being? What does_ he _care?! He didn't seem to give a rat's ass when I was wandering off on my own after being unable to find a way back into Alphys' house! Which was totally_ his _fault!_

"And?" You eventually reply, resisting the urge to snap at him as you turn your face away again, jaw clenched and hand still resting against your throat. "Does that matter?"

...

"Here you go, (Name). I have to take care of my students, but feel free to stay here and rest for as long as you want," Professor Burt says as he finishes his jog back towards you and hands you a cold bottle of water from the far away ice chest, prompting you to nod in confirmation before he gives Sans a wave and turns to leave again- this time jogging towards the groups of students finished with their runs.

Sans is still quiet as he stands beside you, though you can feel his eye lights on you as you open the bottle you've been given. While drinking carefully, you take a moment to assess the current situation.

First of all, you're surprised that Sans hasn't walked away yet or anything. He doesn't like you after all. Why would he choose to stand next to you like this? Second, Papyrus said Sans attends the school? You'd have thought he'd be one of those lazy dropouts or something.

You seal your bottled water up again.

...

"I guess it doesn't matter. Whether you're **feline** fine or not, just thought I'd ask," Sans puns, causing you to crack a bit of a smile since you're in position where Sans can't see your face.

This is exactly when the world decides to remind you that this is the wrong place to be appreciating his dumb jokes, because as soon as Undyne and Papyrus are doing the pass onto their tenth lap... Well...

"WHATCHA SMILING ABOUT, GIRLIE?! NGAH HA HA!" Undyne cackles aloud, air and dirt sending your hair flying back as they pass by.

Your smile drops light a weight and you fully turn around to give your back to Sans in mortification, legs crossed as you lean forward slightly to face palm in horror. You're embarrassed, but sensation of heat crawling up your neck and to your face and ears is even more frustrating since you can't really hide it.

 _Whatever! I'm allowed to appreciate bad jokes no matter how awful of a person I am! Who cares what_ SANS _thinks!_

Yet, as you hear the sound of the skeleton monster chuckling, you abruptly jump up to your feet and start walking to get the hell out of there. Let Undyne be angry! Let Papyrus be sad! Let Booger-pants be right about your racist ass! You're not letting the consequences stop you anymore! This is _your_ life and you can spend it however _you_ want! Like _hell_ you're going to waste it by spending that time with these crazy monsters, much less _Sans!_

They can't bully you or guilt you into hanging out with them anymore. You won't let them.

You're tough, you've _got_ this!

**_ "HEY!" _ **

You turn around abruptly once you've distance yourself a good couple of yards from the field where Undyne and Papyrus are running, feeling the hairs behind your neck prickle in alarm. What is the sight you're greeted by?

Undyne, running around Papyrus' confused figure with a primal shark grin spread across her face and making a beeline in your direction at an alarming speed in her exercise capris and sports tank. There's a spark of madness in her single gold eye as she catches sight of you beginning to leave... Like she's excited.

...Like how a cat looks when they're watching their prey attempt to escape inevitable doom.

Just like that, you remove your hands from beside your neck and spin back around to take off in a sprint like the devil's after you- 'cause let's be honest- Undyne is pretty damn close to being a devil. Your legs tense up as you pick up speed, and before you know it, you're charging through the campus making wild attempts to confuse her by turning at every corner and junction you pass.

All the muscles in your somewhat-fit-but-not-Undyne-fit body cry out as you continue to push past your limit, gasping for air as you run with your frantically beating heart going haywire within your ribcage. You're not sure how close Undyne is to catching up to you, but you're unwilling to turn around and see at the risk of slowing down or running into-

The tip of your sneaker catches an uneven part of a brick path by some classrooms near the art building, causing your body to go flying forward. A weightless sensation of falling settles inside of you, lasting for only a second until you fall face first into something.

It's not the ground... And you're still somewhat upright. In fact, it's warm and feels like another body...

... With great smelling cologne.

"Oh, there you are, (Name)! I was looking for y... Are you okay? Why are you out of breath?"

Alarmed even further, you push away from whoever's caught you to look at their face and identify them. It's someone who knows you, and you _should_ be able to recognize them by the sound of their voice, but considering the amount of blood loudly pumping through your ears, it's a little difficult to make out the finer tunes of their voice.

When you make eye contact with _Alan_ of all people, your expression shifts into an uncanny and frantic look of desperation and hope, causing Alan to physically shiver in both confusion and nervousness.

 _"Hide me...!"_ You barely manage to blurt out through your heavy pants.

"W-what?!" Alan asks, despite his body already directing you towards a nearby classroom. He peeks into the window quickly with his gorgeous brown eyes, making sure it's clear before he tries the knob.

As he is doing this, you spot movement out of the corner of your eye, causing your blood to run cold with panic.

It's Undyne, bursting into the clearing with her speedy feet as she looks around in the opposite direction to find you. She's going to look your way soon enough!

 _Shit! I'm dead!_ You think, horror crawling over your features as you turn your head to stare at her and await your demise... Or embarrassment. Who knows, but you don't want _either_ possibility!

Just before you fully resign yourself to your fate, Alan opens the door to the classroom and shoves you in roughly in his panic, nearly causing you to stumble again. Promptly after, the door slams shut and you straighten up to look around the empty classroom, lit up only by the computer monitor and the running overhead projector displaying a power point on the whiteboard at the front of the room about the government.

You're momentarily caught up reading the content out of curiosity, midst your attempts to slow your heavy breathing down, before you hear a voice bark from outside the room.

"Hey, you! Yeah, _you!_ You seen a little _nerd_ girl with black hair and a bad attitude run by here, punk?" Oh god, that's Undyne's voice... She'd better not even _think_ about hurting even just a hair on Alan's body.

"Eh? Nerd girl?" Alan asks easily with a gentle easygoingness that stuns you. He's so _smooth!_ How is his lying so good?!

Regardless of his tone, his question seems to deflect Undyne's first interrogative query much to your relief.

"Yeah. She's about yay high... Her hair's long and sorta wavy or curly... She's kind of shy but also sassy and rude when she gets her buttons pushed. Might have looked terrified out of her mind while passing."

You grit your teeth as you make a face and stand by the classroom door to listen in. Undyne sure has a way with describing things, eh...?

"Oh, do you mean _(Name)?_ Yeah, I _did_ see her now that you mention it!" Alan lies flawlessly, while you giggle under your breath, now that your breathing has somewhat settled for the most part. "She went _that_ way!"

"Yeah? ...Hey, you know her then? You look kind of familiar..." Undyne comments suspiciously, causing your blood to suddenly run cold.

_No, no, please don't recognize him, that will make things worse._

"Oh, really? My name's Alan!" Alan brightly comments in response.

_Urrgh! He's so sweet, and although I like how nice he is as a person, it really isn't helping right now! Even though it's so damn cute!_

After a few moments of Undyne thinking, you hear a gasp of recognition on her part.

"OH! You're that human from _Redbox!_ The one that (Name) likes and was ogling at the counter!" Undyne suddenly blurts out, while you turn away to pace in the room and pull at your hair in frustration.

_She did it._

You stop walking near the center of the classroom and fall to your knees, no longer paying attention to the conversation outside. Your hands dig into the tresses of your hair and you bury your face in your arms, leaning backwards slowly.

_She told him._

Your back hits the ground without mercy and your legs collapse, shifting to rest forwards as you drag your hands down from your hair to your face where you press your palms harder into your cheeks. Your heartbeat has dwindled back to a slightly speedy beat as you replay Undyne's words in your head over and over.

_"The one that (Name) likes and was ogling at!"_

**_"The one that (Name) likes and was ogling at!"_ **

There is no way he is unaware of your crush on him now.

You hear a distant and soft popping sound somewhere in the classroom as you remove your hands to stare up at the projector above you, but you brush it off as one of the weird noises from the hard drive of the computer or the projector itself.

"...Would like that a lot! Feel free to drop by tonight now that you have the address. We'll be starting at five! He he..." Undyne speaks, while you listen in noncommittally. After she told him _that_ , you honestly no longer care about her finding you. Your life is done for- whether she kills you or not.

Because Alan knows you like him now.

And now he's going to be _sooo_ weirded out by you. There's no way he's going to feel comfortable hanging out around you anymore... Ugh.

"So, by the way... Why are you standing in front of that snug little classroom there? Looks pretty dark inside," Undyne speaks, causing you to abruptly sit up like a spring as your eyes widen.

On second thought, one demise is good enough for you. You need to hide your ass.

You jump onto your feet as you hear Alan laugh nervously, his composure audibly falling apart now that Undyne has finished buttering him up with conversation. You're not sure how long he'll be able to hold out against Undyne, but you assume it won't be long until the fish bitch is barreling through the door and taking down desks like they're made of crackers.

"Oh, this room? It's nothing important. There's no class in session today. Nobody is in there," Alan explains rather quickly, much to your anxiety. He doesn't sound very convincing- you're _dead._

_Shit, shit, shiiiiii...?_

You turn to dive under the teacher's desk, only to freeze again when your eyes land on a figure standing by your destination.

Sans.

Sans is in here.

...

_Why is SANS in HERE?!_

You feel your stomach drop when you spot him leaning back against the desk of the classroom, offering you a mischievous grin before he lifts both of his hands. You're not sure whether to be suspicious after everything else he's ever done, but you watch anyways, like a deer caught in headlights.

 **'Need a lift?'** He signs to your surprise, causing you to look back up at his bright eye lights, which stand out against the mostly dark shadows of the classroom. Your expression shifts from curiosity to a dry look of disbelief. 'Cause seriously, like you'd believe _that._

Sans' shoulders shake lightly, like he's laughing quietly, and he narrows his eye lights on you in amusement. His hands start signing more words much to your curiosity.

**'Come here. I promise I won't bite this time.'**

He holds his hand out to you after signing.

For some reason, this sentence mildly unsettles you, but you're not sure why. Only that the following wink he adds in only drives the stake of discomfort further into your body as you stare at him unabashedly with wide eyes of befuddled apprehension. What in the world could he even want with you? He's only met you yesterday, surely he couldn't have changed his mind about his dislike for you, especially in that small of a timeframe...

You don't know whether to trust him after everything he did last night. Every part of your brain is at war with reason and idea. You could stay here and get mauled by the fish monster... Or go with Sans and get mauled by a skeleton monster instead.

...Somehow, you're under the impression that you'd rather be mauled by a fish, which is pretty sad considering you're supposed to be a tough, hardcore human and they're supposed to be the sugary, vulnerable monsters.

"Hmm, yeah, but you're guarding it pretty closely, aren't you? A little too close for it to be as unimportant as you say it is..." Undyne says with a rather bloodthirsty tone of amusement from outside, causing you to turn your head to glance at the door in alarm.

You need to make a choice- there's no way Undyne isn't going to check under the desks when she enters the room. She'll definitely find you.

"Y-yeah, I guess? But, there's really no one in there," Alan insists with that nice tone of his, only for you to hear a grunt and a nervous boyish laugh that soon follows. "Whoa...! Um, are you seriously going to suplex me...?!"

Your heart throbs with worry and you turn to head towards the door despite the earlier revelation of your crush on Alan. Before you can make it to the exit though, Sans appears with a soft **pop!** in your path, chuckling when he sees the colorful look of shocked offense that forms over your face.

He gives you a wide grin and shakes his finger 'no' at you teasingly before he holds out his hand to you again almost... Welcomingly.

Everything about his offer _stinks_ with bad intention.

You scrunch your nose defiantly and turn away from him to walk back to the teacher's desk, taking a seat right on top of it and crossing your legs as you make eye contact with him purposefully. With that sass Undyne has claimed that you have, you huff out moodily and cross your arms, turning your face away from where Sans has been left standing.

Sans walks back over to the desk like he knows you'll change your mind eventually, causing you to make a face at the wall beside you as you wait for Undyne to barge in. Your heart is speeding up considerably again, and you know it's because you can hear the sound of kicks hitting the door to the class room.

Your resolve is slipping. You really don't want to find out what Undyne will do to you when she gets her hands on you. That fish bitch is more 'murdery' than Jaws on steroids.

 _"Ow!"_ You hear Alan yelp from outside the classroom door, following the sound of something hitting the ground.

"MISS HUMAN! Do not worry! The Great Papyrus is here to rescue you! I will save you from the confines of this locked classroom!"

 _Hell no, I can't do this!_ You think in horror, looking back over at Sans with rising panic. He's grinning even wider now, his hand extends out to you a third and possibly final time. You know you can't say no any longer. You're a big chicken with stupid dreams about being a threatening raptor. Sans has you right where he wants you to be.

Either this will be what he's offered you- freedom- or this will end badly... In quite possibly a mauling.

Just as a last brutal kick from either Undyne or Papyrus, you don't know which one, allows light to spill into the room from behind Sans, your hand snaps out and takes hold of his, and the room flashes with blue, followed by a **Pop!** that sends the two of you spiraling out of this world and into China.

...Or at least that's what you thought should have happened.

**_ PBBBBBBFFFFFFT!!! _ **

Your eyes widen two fold and you stare at Sans' face, watching his perpetual smile curling at the bottom of his mouth ridge- almost giving the illusion that he's biting down on his lip to keep from laughing his ass off as the footsteps entering the classroom stop at the sound of the whoopee cushion that Sans got you with.

He got you.

And you completely fell for it.

While you sink down to your knees in defeat and disbelief, Sans releases your hand and turns around casually with a grin and a lazy shrug when Undyne steps in with Papyrus at her side. Soon enough, Alan is jumping in and landing right next to Papyrus with an expression of confusion and surprise, looking from you to the red coated skeleton and back quickly in an attempt to make sense of things. Unlike Alan, Undyne and Papyrus have both lost their fire and now slouch forward with bland looks of dry annoyance. They couldn't _look_ anymore done with Sans' shit.

"... Outta the way, nerd," Undyne eventually says, walking on over and grabbing Sans by the top of his skull to move him to the side like a claw crane game machine. Once she drops him out of the way, she steps up to you and waves the magic of her harpoon spear away, taking your hand and pulling you up onto your feet as you continue to sulk and stare at your hands like they've offended you. Still bearing his grin, Sans turns to watch with his hands shoved in his pocket.

"Sheesh, (Name). I tried to **kelp** you out, but you thought I was being **fishy,"** Sans lazily says with a shrug. "I figured if you didn't take it the first time, I ought to **beach** you a lesson."

Papyrus shoves his face into his scarf and makes a muffled screech of annoyance into the fabric, only resulting in Sans grinning wider.

"You're smiling," Sans informs his taller brother, causing Papyrus to reply with another screech of disdain into his scarf.

"Just ignore him, (Name)..." Undyne says with an eye roll, easily knocking you over her shoulder with a single forceful shove of her body against your thighs. Before you know it, you're hanging over her like a sack of potatoes. Useless, dirty, potatoes that fell for the most obvious prank in the history of pranks.

Paps warned you not to shake his hand for _any_ reason and you did it anyways.

Alan, still more or less curious about the new monster, glances over at the shorter skeleton and asks, "Hey, so you're Papyrus' brother then? The, uh, sock hoarder...?"

"Yeeep. And you?" Sans asks easily, while Undyne turns to walk towards the exit with you in tow.

Your dignity has been smashed, stomped, and spat on. Undyne chased you around the college campus like a maniac in front of plenty of students who know you, Alan knows you like him and probably will never speak to you again without being weird, and Sans managed to finally get you with that stupid whoopee cushion in-the-hand trick of his.

4 for Sans, 0 for (Name).

"I'm Alan. Papyrus' and (Name)'s classmate from CIS," Alan greets Sans with his usual charm, causing the skeleton to return the nice smile before you see his eye lights trail down to an area of Alan's chest. You're not sure what he's looking at, but it's only for a split second. Soon enough, Sans is leaning back to rock on his slippered heels with a relaxed expression across his face.

Somehow, you make a quick connection and come up with an answer for this just before Undyne passes through the exit of the room and leaves Sans and Alan behind, grabbing hold of Papyrus arm on the way. It isn't until then that you notice the tall skeleton is carrying the binder you'd dropped back in your escape to run from Undyne. How... _Nice._

But that's beside the point at the moment though... Why was Sans just staring at Alan's chest?

_Because Sans took a look at Alan's soul._

But... Why though?

You touch your chin as you hang over Undyne's shoulder, pointedly ignoring the many stares and whispers you get as you contemplate Sans' actions over Undyne's shoulder. Your black hair creates a curtain from your hanging position, but that's soon no longer protective enough from the curious eyes of other students when Papyrus parts them to give you a bright smile from where you are hanging.

"Hello, Miss Human! I understand you may be completely upset and distraught over your defeat by Sans whoopee cushion, but never fear! I, the Great Papyrus, will prank him back for you! I've about had it up to _here_ with that lazybones's shenanigans!" Papyrus motions to a certain level of height, but you can't see from your position. "Believe in me, Human! I will surely retrieve your honor!"

You sigh but nod since you don't know what else to do, before your eyes trail back down to the binder in his hands.

"...Thank you for grabbing my binder..." You grumble begrudgingly as you turn your head to stare at Undyne's back bitterly.

You hate that you have this ugly need to thank him for something stupid. 'Cause seriously, you think it's _completely_ stupid. It's not like you _asked_ him or _ordered_ him to pick it up for you! He did it on his own free will! So whether he gets no thanks or an insult, he brought it upon himself by touching your things without permission. You don't owe him anything!

...Yet you still thank him anyways. Stupid...

Papyrus straightens up in clear delight, grinning brightly and dropping your hair when he goes to pose- that is until he realizes you can't see him because he's dropped your hair. He soon parts it again to grin at you with a tangy orange blush of embarrassment.

"You are very welcome, Miss Human," he adds, before pulling back and allowing your hair to block out the world.

You think you feel Undyne chuckle, but only make a soft scoff of annoyance towards it- only because it might have been in your head or not meant for your ears.

Without warning, you're suddenly whipped back onto your two feet again, Undyne standing in front of you with a wild grin once more. Somehow, you have a feeling that you should have listened to your gut and kept your mouth shut. Undyne seems to have a love for chasing you around and playing cat-and-mouse games with you for the fuck of it.

"...Did you just _scoff_ at me, _GIRLIE...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter due to time constraints because Christmas had me by a choke hold! Next Friday's will be a lot longer- I promise. Either way, have a good weekend! :D
> 
> Also, I uploaded this from my phone half asleep, so let me know if there are too many mistakes and I'm an idiot. I'll eventually check it out in the morning =w=
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	14. Be Meaner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While taking a break from doing homework, you pass out in the middle of the day to revisit a familiar nightmare. Also, in an attempt to break all ties with the monsters, you blow up at Undyne and assume your ultimate form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NYO HO HO!!!! IT'S SOOTURDUEY!! NOOOOOO!! *bows in apology, slams face against dresser, and sobs in pile of Papyrus spaghetti*

Chapter 14: Be Meaner

You drum your finger pads along the bottom portion of your laptop lightly as you try to come up with something interesting- as well as informative tips to apply into a worksheet for the CIS students of Professor Gerard's class, biting your lip and staring at the blank digital page before you patiently.

It appears as if you're trying to use you mind to will the blank document to fill itself up with ideas, but by the look of things, it's not going much in your favor. It seems like you have no magical mind powers, other than the power to leer so closely that you summon yourself a headache.

You're back at Alphys' and Undyne's place and everyone is immersed in doing their homework so that there are no distractions during movie night. To say that you're unenthused about doing your work in a room full of monsters is an extreme understatement... In fact, you're one hundred percent apathetic at this point. You wish you could do your work in the safe confines of _your_ bedroom in _your_ own home, not in the middle of a monster's _living room._

As of now, the fish bitch is currently sitting on a wide loveseat by herself with her scaly legs propped up under a notebook resting on her lap, chewing on her second wooden pencil as she works on a short essay for her English class (a class she apparently has when you and Papyrus have CIS) and listening to music on her MP3 player. The woman is clearly _completely_ in her own little world...

But then again, when _isn't_ she in her own little world? The fish bitch is totally mental.

You watch, almost spellbound, as she gnaws at the midsection of her wooden pencil with her sharp, barracuda teeth- until a **_Snap!_** fills the air and the second pencil between her teeth visibly splinters into two pieces. A flinch reverberates through you at the sudden sound, despite you watching her, but you continue your blatant staring as she proceeds to remove both halves from her mouth to carelessly toss them over her shoulder. Once that pencil vanishes behind her, she reaches into her backpack by the feet of the loveseat she's on to pull out another. Undyne never looks away from the opened notebook in her lap, totally engrossed with her own work as if it's some of the most challenging shit she's ever crossed paths with.

Sitting on a small recliner near the loveseat Undyne is on is Papyrus, properly seated and _not_ reclined back- as he claims he "refuses to sloth about like Sans"- with a foldable table for one set up so he can comfortably complete his homework and get some good studying done. Said skeleton monster has a CIS textbook open and a worksheet pinned between the pages as he scans his book for contexts and answers, brow bones knitted together in concentration. From the way he flips throughout the chapters to find the answers to his assignment, you can tell how hard of a worker he is. Papyrus will have no problem passing Professor Gerard's class- that teacher gives out easy assignments and his tests are straightforward.

Unlike his lazy brother, who (thankfully) isn't here at the current moment. You, Undyne, and Papyrus left him behind chatting with Alan- who seemed confused but appears to like Sans... Much to your dismay. You just _know_ Sans is going to fill that boy's head up with things about how bitchy you are. Well, it's not _your_ fault! Sans has _totally_ been provoking you since you met him- YESTERDAY! _YESTERDAY!_ Not even a whole twenty four hours have passed since you met! Again- What is that skeleton's _problem?!_

You glance around the living room for some relief from the stodgy blank document on your laptop, despite you having been sitting there thinking of something to slap on the page for a good twenty minutes as of now. Trying to do your homework in an environment where Sans can pop in at any minute makes it impossible to focus. He could just appear at the moment you least expect it! Like... What if you get up to get something to drink and use the bathroom? What if you go to sit down... And a whoopee cushion appears! And you _sit_ on it?!

Your hands automatically reach up to weave your fingers into your wavy curls, gently pulling at the roots in your frustration. To your immense relief, both Undyne and Papyrus are far too busy with their homework to notice anything, and Alphys isn't even here right now- having gone to work for a couple of hours at her lab, wherever _that_ is... Which you couldn't possibly care any less about.

"Miss Human!" You jump at the sound of the skeleton speaking, hands flying back onto your laptop in alarm as you turn to face him innocently. Papyrus has caught you staring off into space two times already during those twenty minutes of your lack of productivity, and has scolded you twice for your inactivity. Not keen on receiving another scolding from the tall skeleton, you hold the position as best as you can and start typing whatever pops in your head. Papyrus leers at you suspiciously for a moment, but eventually shakes off the look to give you a pleasant smile as he stands up from the recliner and moves the single table from in front of him. "I must attend to something at my home right now! I will be right back after I deal with this sudden issue. Please keep working while I am gone! When I get back, I expect that white block in your computer to be covered with content!"

You nod wordlessly, watching keenly as he turns to Undyne- who has pulled her ear phones out upon noticing Papyrus' movement. "Okay, stay safe, punk. I don't wanna hear that you let some human beat you up on the streets, got it?!" She barks out harshly, causing Papyrus to straighten up and salute her.

"Yes, Undyne! I shall be swift and take down any challengers that may desire to have battle with me! Nyeh heh heh~!" Papyrus cackles in delight, before snatching up his nearby backpack and jogging towards the exit. He shoots you one last smile and wave before he opens the door and swings out of Undyne's home like an energetic puppy, leaving you and Undyne alone once more.

...

"Sooo..." Undyne drawls, looking your way with a malicious grin that immediately unsettles your stomach. Oh god, you can feel your insides flipping about like a fish out of... Water...

ARGH! THIS IS **_HIS_** FAULT!

"Hungry?" You blink in surprise and feel your body begin to loosen as a result. That wasn't what you were expecting... In fact, you expected her to start chasing you around with that harpoon magic of hers again. Why's she asking if you're hungry?

Undyne snickers at the look on your face as you stare at her, your left eye slightly twitching in disbelief. Typical fish bitch... Taking every chance to ridicule you for being a human, and laughing at your so called 'over-the-top' expressions. It's not _your_ fault you think she's a weirdo...

 "As fun as doing _homework_ is..." She shoots the notebook on her lap a snooty glare of disdain, "I'd much rather do something of more interest now that 'Mother Paps' has finally stopped hovering over us like a helicopter mom. Come on, let's see what's in the kitchen!"

Undyne leaps off the couch with a laugh and shoots past you and the couch, half sliding on the hardwood floor that leads to the kitchen with her socks. You'd much rather sit there on the couch and ignore her playful attempts to befriend you (especially after the many attempts on your life in the past twenty four hours), however, as soon as she vanishes within the kitchen, your stomach growls in objection to your ideas.

Trying to show how unenthused you are about following her, you push your laptop off of yourself and get up slowly, taking your time to walk to the kitchen so you can also calm your belly. If she heard your stomach growling, you'd be so embarrassed by the confirmation on your hunger.

You're wearing socks just like Undyne is, but you'd be damned if you start sliding around like an idiot as she was doing. Maybe she can't crack _her_ thick head open, but you most certainly could. You aren't ashamed to admit the fragility of humanity- even if monsters claim you to be the stronger species. Maybe they don't realize it, but everything has a weakness. Humans certainly have weaknesses- they just vary depending on the person.

Just as you're about to enter the kitchen, a wave of dizziness washes over you, causing you to sway dangerously. Sensing the strangeness of your state, you reach out and grab on to one of the chairs in the kitchen, leaning some of your weight on it to balance yourself. The room is blurry, and you blink several times- until your vision begins to go dark with inky black shades of dark violet and green. You can hear someone yell, and you think it's Undyne... Until you start to hear the voice of _someone else._

Who is it?

Someone else is here?

Maybe Sans popped in... But it doesn't sound like Sans.

It sounds like... Static. With strange words.

You're feeling even heavier than before, and with little resistance, your eyelids snap shut and the chair no longer supports you. You aren't sure whether you hit the ground or someone catches you, but allow yourself to drift off into the darkness of your subconscious nonetheless.

* * *

 

This is a familiar setting.

You blink in surprise and jump up to your feet in Undyne's house, looking around in confusion for the fish woman that was there no less than a few seconds prior. You're no longer dizzy, and you feel ready to take on the world...

But there's no one here.

"...Undyne?" You speak up reluctantly, stepping out of the empty kitchen and into the living room. The living room seems darker than before, but it's definitely the same place. Undyne's notebook is still where she left it on the loveseat, and your laptop is in the same place _you_ left it- opened to the document with the same gibberish you'd been pretending to type when approached by Papyrus.

Confused at the lack of people and the color of the environment, you take a glance at a clock hanging above the fireplace near their television and movie cabinet. The time reads 3:20 am.

But if that's the right time... Does that mean you've been unconscious for a whole twelve hours? And if that's right, why were you on the ground and where is everyone? Undyne is a total bitch, yes, but even _she_ doesn't seem like the kind of person to shrug off something like a fainting human...

You take a closer look at the clock and walk on over, picking the antique up and letting out a huff of annoyance when you realize the problem. The clock has stopped. Maybe it hasn't been working the whole time. It could probably be a little earlier than 3 am... Right?

Yet that still doesn't explain the lack of Undyne in her own home at night... Besides, what about movie night? For sure everyone would have come by to watch movies. If Undyne really didn't care and left you on the floor, _Papyrus_ at least would have picked you up after coming back from doing whatever he needed to do at home. He is _definitely_ not the kind of person that would leave a fallen human on the floor...

You put the clock back down and scurry over to the window where Sans had been keeping watch at when he locked you out the other night, only to feel your stomach drop when you see the empty streets outside.

Where is everybody?!

You jump off the couch with a burst of energy at the rise in your discomfort to make your way to the hall leading to the bedrooms and bathroom, nearly slipping on the hardwood floor in your hurry. You feel extremely anxious- and not finding Undyne in her own home makes you feel a little...

...

The door to the guest room of Undyne's home is empty, and you quickly leave to check the next closest door, leading to the bathroom. It opens with ease, but nobody is in there either.

Finally, you grab the door to Undyne's and Alphys' personal bedroom, which you've of course never stepped foot in, throwing the door open in your rush to find the red haired monster. You don't even blink at the loud sound the door makes as its handle hits the wall behind it.

Inside their bedroom is a large king-sized bed covered by a comforter with a goldfish design, a bookshelf against the wall at the far end of the room away from the bed. It's drilled in place from the upper sides sloppily- probably to protect anyone from getting smashed if an earthquake happens to hit... Though the way it's been done makes it less than convincing.

Anime plushies form varying shows- ones you've seen and ones you've never even heard of- cover the bed near the pillows as decoration, but with a few more scans and a quick tip toe to the bathroom inside the room near the left, you conclude the room to be void of life.

_Maybe they're in the back yard...?_

You turn to leave, only to come face to face with someone.

This someone is neither Undyne, nor Papyrus.

Your eyes widen when you take in a dark form with a skull like head that has their jaw fused together to their head much like Sans, one eye light from their left eye lit up as they stare at you blankly. Their right eye seems to be drooping in a sad crescent shape, making it impossible to make out any light within it. There's a crack line above their right eye and another crack line below their left eye, going down to a hollow smile. It looks as if their face has been carved open like a pumpkin to make the grin- and a there is a blackness within their toothless mouth that resembles the darkness in Papyrus mouth and eye sockets- as well as Sans'.

You nearly scream, but out of sheer shock, all you can do is stare with wide eyes as your body and brain take a moment to try and figure out how to deal with the appearance of a new monster. This _is_ a monster, right? You've never seen them before...

...But they're familiar. Like you've been in their presence one time before.

They make a strange noise, one that sounds like talking for some reason, but is most clearly a type of static. You shake your head in bewilderment, unable to answer. You don't even _know_ what they're saying, if they're at all trying to communicate with you.

"I can't understand you," you find yourself stating firmly, causing the creature to halt the static noises they're making after your comment. It seems they can at least understand _you_ at least.

The... _Monster..._ lifts their hands and reveals segmented skeletal phalanges with a hole in each palm that you can see right through, causing your eyes to narrow on them as you search for the similar texture and shapes as you'd seen the night when Sans offered you his hand. Papyrus was hardly an example to go from, considering his hands were always in gloves, but with Sans' to go by, you immediately make the connection you assume you should have made since you first saw their face.

 _This is for sure a monster. A skeleton monster like Sans and Papyrus, but... Who_ is _this monster? What are they doing in_ Undyne's _home?_

As soon as that thought enters your mind, something inside of you becomes immediately defensive. This monster _shouldn't_ be in Undyne's home, right? Who let them in? _How_ did they get in?

Before you can demand where the hell Undyne is and who they are, their hands begin to create signs and your temper slightly winds down at the recognition of his movements. Which is _really_ strange, considering it's not American Sign Language...

**'REMEMBER THE TIME AND THE PLACE.'**

You understand what they're signing... But at the same time, you _don't_ understand. What do they mean by that? You shake your head helplessly, unable to utter a single word as you continue with studying them, taking in the black melting body beneath its head that seems like it can barely hold itself together. Maybe you can ask Papyrus and Sans about this monster?

"U-um," you finally gather the guts to speak, though the monster hasn't looked away since they've finished signing. "What are you doing in here? Are you a friend of Undyne's?"

...

No answer.

You furrow your brow and try again.

"Who are you? What are you trying to tell me?" You ask instead, hoping for a different response.

**'YOU WILL HELP. YOU WERE WARNED THAT THERE WAS NO GOING BACK. REMEMBER THE TIME AND THE PLACE.'**

Slowly but surely, you are growing frustrated with the monster’s vague signing and struggle to keep yourself from losing your patience. "Okay, I can't remember something you haven't even told me in the first place, and _what_ warning?! I wasn't warned about anything!" You furiously object, only for the skeletal hands to grab hold of both your wrists in theirs. "H-Hey, stop!"

As you're yanked closer towards them, you're suddenly twice as terrified as before. You're alone with this _thing_ in Undyne's place. Vulnerable. Isolated. Easy prey. You stare into their asymmetrical eye sockets apprehensively, waiting for the monster to do something. Other than stare back though, the monster definitively does nothing...

Until you notice the change in setting. You gasp and spin around to find yourself back in that alley. The one you'd dreamt of only recently before- where that frog monster had been slaughtered and maybe, for lack of a better word, _posessed_?

Is this the place the monster wants you to remember? And the time... 3:20 am? Is that it? But when? Tonight? Tomorrow night?!

You open your mouth to ask, even though you're not sure whether anything is significant. All you dreamt about was a monster that happened to die and become reanimated... Why is it so important though? It was just a dream! It's not like it would _actually..._

...Would it?

* * *

_Wake up, (Name!)_

Your brow furrows in confusion. You recognize the voice, if only vaguely- the sharp tone and loud volume practically burned in the back of your mind for eternity. Although you find it familiar, however, you are unable to put a face to the rough, feminine voice.

Who is it?

_If you don't wake your ass up right now, damn it, I'm gonna...! Um, I'm suplexing your girly ass! Yeah!_

Huh? "Suplexing"? What's that...? That's kind of a fancy word, isn't it?

_(Name), I swear to all that is holy, I'm giving you to the count of ten! GET UP!_

It sounds like a threat, but you're not sure if you should be afraid. You certainly dislike the voice and the person the voice is connected to, but if doesn't feel as if you're in danger. Actually, you feel relatively safe, even though this person's yelling makes you a wee bit uncomfortable...

_Ten! ...Nine! ...Eight!_

Why does that voice sound _so_ familiar?

_...Seven! ...Six!_

To think I'd be familiar with such a hostile being... Who the heck screams out numbers like an animal? Talk about a lack of tact.

_...Five! ...FOUR! ...Come on, (Name), WAKE UP!_

They sound pretty worried. Tch, that's rich, coming from the fish bitch... Wasn't she only recently trying to kebab you on a couple of harpoon spears? On _two_ separate occasions?! If it wasn't for Alan hiding you and... And...

No! Sans was _not_ helpful! He didn't do _shit!_ He LIED about helping you so he could get you with his stupid whoopee cushion in the hand trick! That damn toothy little basta-

_...Three!_

...Wait.

_...Two!_

**Fish bitch?!**

_...ONE!!_

Your eyes snap open in horror, just as Undyne is hoisting you off of the ground with a mighty bellow of power, causing your eyes to nearly pop out of your skull in horror as you watch the floor get farther away.

"NO, UNDYNE! STOP! I'M AWAKE!" You practically scream, causing the monster to snap her jaws shut and look up as your arms and legs move to wrap around her arms desperately, hoping to _god_ she doesn't drop you. You're no cat- if you fall, you're not going to land on your feet. Sure, you're not going to _die_ , but damn it _,_ you don't want to get hurt _either!_

"Oh, good! I was starting to get worried!" Undyne answers in relief, still holding you up above her and making no move to put you down. You can feel vertigo begin to take hold as you look around at the ground for a way down and send a snarl the fish bitch's way.

"Really? 'Cause last time I checked, you don't _suplex_ people you're worried about! What the hell even _is_ suplexing?! This doesn't feel safe, PUT ME DOWN! _NOW!_ " You shout, watching Undyne actually shrink her neck back a bit as you add a sharp cat-like hiss her way in addition to your biting words.

She must think you've gone mental, but hey, _she_ went mental first!

"Damn... I didn't know you could bark like that," Undyne admits with a bit of a proud grin, right before dropping your legs so quickly that you squeal a bit when you swing around her other arm. As soon as your feet are lowered on the ground, albeit rather awkwardly, since you soon lose your balance and fall back onto your ass with a squeak, you make a nasty face at her reply.

Anything that even so much as _sounds_ like a comparison to you with a dog makes your blood boil with the memory of Sans' morning insult.

URGH!

Undyne pulls you back on your feet with a quick grab of your hand and a yank, much to your dismay. You refuse to admit how interesting her scales feel against your hand, and quickly pull your hand back before she notices your finger tips gently run across a few scale ridges. They aren't rough or hard... In fact, it really does feel as if you're touching a fish.

Well, one of those fish you buy from the supermarket. Pond fish and tank fish are kind of slimy... However, her scales _did_ feel a bit slick back when she dove into the water to save you that fateful day.

... Damn it, (Name)! STOP THINKING ABOUT MONSTERS LIKE THAT! Fuck, _Undyne just tried to kill you right now!_ When you were _down!_

"Why were you even picking me up...?" You demand, your voice returning to its usual low volume despite the consistency of your rude words, causing Undyne to snicker and her eye to twitch in amusement.

"My god, you're seriously so adorable... One moment we have to practically pry and force you to talk, the next you're screeching and hissing like a beast. Maybe I should threaten you more often," she comments thoughtfully, reaching up to touch her chin and look up in contemplation. Your face turns tomato red at her observations, and you glare at her again- completely enraged.

"Excuse me?! Have you ever thought that maybe I don't _want_ to talk to you heathens?! I was doing just fine by myself!" You snap suddenly, the fire burning brightly now that she's riled you up so more. "I fainted and you just _picked me up like I was Simba or some fucking shit!"_

"'Heathens'? That's a pretty fancy word... Uh, but who's 'Simba'?" Undyne asks, not in the least bit offended by your words.

You lean back, temper sizzling out as you wait to process her reaction.

She doesn't care...

She doesn't _care...?_

She _doesn't CARE?!_

Your rage suddenly flares back to life with a vengeance, nearly burning you from the inside out as you begin to see red and your soul pulsates with vigor. You'll make her see how serious you are. You just need to use the right words!

"UGH! What is _wrong with you?!_ I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR GODDAMN FRIEND! I. _HATE_. _MONSTERS!_ _Why is that so hard for you moldy, fucking walnut brains to understand?!_ I want to go home! Leave me alone! Quit trying to make me a part of your stupid _monster lover squad! I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYTHING! I HATE EVERYONE-!"_

Your eyes widen and you gape in shock when you notice Undyne's expression twitching and scrunching together. The soft scales of her face trembling a little around her mouth as if she's...

As if she's...

Without a warning, Undyne bursts out laughing like booming thunder. Her single eye is watering to the point that she is openly crying, jaws open wide as she heaves in and out to get air inside her monster body. She gasps several times between deafening shouts of laughter, arms wrapping around her stomach as you stare in shock when her body completely collapses beside your feet. She splays out across the floor while snorting and howling like there's no tomorrow. If anything, she's laughing _even_ _harder_ than the time at the hospital when you first admitted to hating monsters.

You stare wordlessly down at her body, mouth open as you watch her struggle to raise her head and look at your with her single watering eye, pointing and laughing even more as you let this all sink in.

...

"NYEH HEH HEH! The Great Papyrus is back! What have I miss...? Miss Human? Why is Undyne mimicking the things goldfish do when outside of their water tank? ...Are we playing charades?! Oh, I _love_ that game!"

You look up at the entrance to Undyne's house to see Papyrus standing with a bag of groceries at hand, a couple boxes of pasta noodles poking out of one of the bags he is holding. His expression is bright and expectant much like a child's, despite his insistence on _not_ being entirely... Stupid.

You can't do this.

This is your chance. You have all the rage and power to do what you've been struggling to do since Undyne first vowed to make you her _bestie._

Too bad you already _have_ a bestie.

Your hands slap against the sides of your head and turn away from them, inhaling as much air as you can get into your lungs before releasing it all out in one ear-shattering scream.

Time ticks by as your piercing screams drag on, right before you cut yourself off when an even louder sound suddenly catches your attention, followed by two startled shouts from the other two monsters in the house.

You turn back to the kitchen when something hits your leg, soaking your socks and calves while half covering Undyne in water. Confused by the unexpected splash of water, you freeze and wait for everything to make sense to you.

Undyne is sitting up and staring wide eyed at a spot on the counter of the kitchen, where the bottom half of a gallon-sized glass beverage dispenser filled with water sits. It's completely shattered around the top and only a little bit of water spins around inside the cracked bottom half, as if it was blended violently by a miniature hurricane. The liquid and glass from the missing top half covers the hardwood floor and you shiver from the chill of the cold water, completely confused.

_What in the hell... Just happened? The dispenser shattered? How the heck...?_

Meanwhile, Papyrus finally drops the bags of groceries he's holding with wide eyes and carefully walks over towards the two of you. Despite your screaming and shouting at Undyne only minutes before, you still (robotically) reach down and latch on to her wrist, pulling her onto her feet and back from the mess so she isn't anywhere where she will step on the broken glass that's scattered across the wet surface of the ground.

Once Papyrus reaches the two of you, he gently links one arm around you and the other around Undyne. As he is the only one with proper shoes on, he lifts the two of you up and brings you over the mess to the living room. He sets you two down quietly so you can all gape at the mess for a couple more minutes, right before you feel the two monsters slowly turn to look at you.

When you feel their curious gazes burning into your face, you turn to look at them as well. Noticing their continued gaping, you snap your mouth shut and raise an eyebrow. What, do they think _you_ have something to do with this? How can _this_ be _your_ fault! You didn't touch the thing! You weren't even the one standing next to it! _Undyne_ was!

"Why are you two looking at _me_ like that? I didn't do anything!" You snap defensively, still completely miffed by the previous heckling and issue from Undyne.

"Miss Human... I believe you might have accidentally shattered the glass with your... Ehrm, _voice,"_ Papyrus decides to comment, although clearly structuring his words carefully so he doesn't end up offending you.

You make a face of disbelief at his words, putting your hands on your hips and puffing your cheeks up in aggravation.

"My _voice?_ You're kidding me, right? If it was my voice, why weren't the kitchen windows shattered either? Besides, that's only in the _movies._ Screaming can't _actually_ break glass..." You snark rudely, before leering at the glass pitcher and then tilting your head in thought. "...Can it?"

"...Before we get to that, (Name), are _you_ okay? I mean, you totally- HEY! Don't gimme that look! I'm not talking about your _tantrum,_ I'm talking about you fainting and shit! That was _seriously_ scary to see you just fall like that! You even have a _bruise_ on your head!" Undyne says, leering at you and pushing some of the hair of your bangs aside to peer at something over your forehead. You frown in confusion until she presses gently on your left temple, causing you to wince and immediately pull back from her touch to cup a hand over the throbbing area of your forehead.

"Ow..." You huff, still irritated, but slowly regaining hold on the reigns of your beastly temper. You don't snap that badly often. In fact, you've only ever gone crazy mad one other time, and that's when someone in the seventh grade made the mistake of trying to heckle Libby.

Thankfully, after you went off on them, they never bothered her again. You totally got suspended for a week due to your choice of word usage, but the satisfaction was _so_ worth it.

"So?" Undyne presses, wringing out her shirt and then her wet red locks.

You shake your head but close your eyes to recall your dream. "I had like, this weird dream or something. There was a monster, I think? They looked like Papyrus and Sans, only... _Weirder._ Wrong. It's like their bottom half was melting or something..." You comment, before opening your eyes and looking back to see Undyne's and Papyrus' uncharacteristically unnerved expressions, causing you to give them a puzzled stare.

"It was just a dream, guys. No need to get scared or anything..." You insist with a hollow laugh, waiting for them to calm down and laugh it off in agreement.

...

They do not.

"Miss Human, why don't we... Have a seat in the living room where we can converse comfortably?" Papyrus suggests with a nervous smile, a layer of sweat forming over his skull much to your surprise.

Considering what Alan told you about monsters not being made of water... You can't help but reach up and touch Papyrus' skull curiously as he takes your hand and carefully pulls you over towards the living room. He seems too shaken to really notice, and you bring your hand back once you feel the moisture under your fingers. Wow, he really _is_ sweating... Jeez, magic is weird.

Once the three of you are in the living room, Undyne tosses her notebook off of the loveseat and onto the recliner close to Papyrus' things, allowing the three of you to sit together. Undyne is on your left and Papyrus is on your right, letting you sit in the middle where they can both speak to you. Since the love seat is wide, they sit cross legged, facing you and still towering over your shorter stature with their tall torsos.

"Do you recall earlier this morning when I told you about the monster condition _'Falling Down'_?" Papyrus inquires, making you nod. You've been wondering about that... What _is_ 'falling down'?

Undyne clears her throat, indicating that she'll be picking up from there. Curiosity piqued, you turn to face her and wait for the monster to begin.

"(Name), when a monster 'falls down', it usually means an end to us. It happens when we lose all of our HP- or to put it in a way you humans will understand, our **_hope_** _._ For us to lose our hope means we can't go on. Our physical forms are made of magic, and magic makes up our _entire_ beings. When we lose **hope** , our magic essence weakens. If enough is lost... We really do fall," Undyne explains, making your eyes widen in shock.

Completely absorbed by her words, you wait patiently as she looks away from you to take a deep breath. Seems like she's about to tell you something very deep- much like that time back at the hospital when she told you about Frisk, the child ambassador who released the monsters from their underground prison... You don't really have many details on that issue. Maybe if you ever get Libby to talk to you again, you can ask her.

...Or you could ask Alan. He seems pretty knowledgeable- Wait, SHIT. You already forgot that Undyne let him know that you're crushing on him, didn't you? Damn it. Maybe you should just find this wonder kid and ask _them_ yourself!

"Well, back in the underground, Alphys was the royal scientist working under King Asgore," Undyne begins, while you raise your eyebrows in shock. Man, both Undyne and Alphys worked directly for the Monster King? Talk about knowing people in high places! "While there, Alphys was studying the effects of human **'determination'**. It's a part of every living being- and for humans, some have a soul completely bathed in the ruby red color of **determination** , like Frisk, but every human _at least_ has a little of that kind of power. **Determination** can be extracted from human souls in small amounts, without damaging the soul of a human..."

You blink in surprise but wait for her to continue, using the pause in her explanation to wonder if the process of extracting determination hurts a human.

"Well, Alphys had some monsters that had fallen down sent to her lab to see if she could help them, and figured since **human determination** is the reason the human **soul** can **persist even after death**... Maybe it could _also_ help the monsters that fell down wake up and regain the **determination** to continue on living," Undyne says, her voice getting softer and slower as she retells this tale.

A bad feeling that this story doesn't end well settles in your stomach, and you tense up between the two monsters. It's hard to swallow, but you do so to calm yourself a little.

"Well, they did wake up," Undyne continues, much to your surprise. You weren't expecting that to happen next in the story. "They were fine and everything- talking with each other, bright and happy as they were before the days when the signs of falling down were beginning to deplete their **hope.** "

As your body relaxes, Undyne turns to meet your gaze again, yellow slitted pupil meeting yours with a mournful glow.

"But afterwards, something went _very wrong,"_ Undyne says, spiking your discomfort and worry once again. It's hard _not_ to care about something like that- it sounds serious... "Monster bodies, made of magic, can't handle the essence of **human** **determination**. It's much stronger than the innate determination of monsters, as our souls vanish the moment our bodies turn to dust. We vanish wholly and _completely._ Since the monsters that fell down couldn't handle power of **human determination,** their bodies fell apart. Monsters melted with one another, and..."

Undyne trails off and leans down to press her face against her hands, much to your concern. This recounting must really be getting to her... It must not have been pretty for Alphys to have to explain something like _melting monsters_ to the Monster King.

You lift an arm with uncertainty, hesitating a few times before you rest it over Undyne's shoulders and pull her to your side to show a little comfort.

"Did the monsters... Um, what happened after?" You decide to go with, rubbing her scaled left shoulder in a gentle massage to soothe her down.

Undyne takes a deep breath and removes her hands from her face, composing herself.

"They're alive, but most of them have fused together in one way or another... They all look melted, (Name). This _ruined_ Alphys back in the underground. She still suffers from depression over the incident _to this day._ Sometimes... Sometimes I'm scared Alphys will..."

You stare at Undyne wordlessly, your eyes scanning her face in alarm. Undyne looks so _tired_ as your eyes study her, and for a moment, you find yourself terrified that what she's worried will happen to Alphys- will happen to _her._ You normally wouldn't care about something as mundane as 'sulking' if it's got to do with a _monster_ , but after everything she's told you about 'falling down'? You'll be damned if you just let either of them...!

You turn towards Papyrus quickly, sharp eyes meeting his sullen sockets until he perks up at the look on your face. Determination shines through your eyes to Papyrus and he nods in understanding, clearing his throat and making Undyne snap out of whatever morbid thoughts she may be having. Her yellow eye snaps up to look at you and the bright skeleton monster, as if she'd forgotten the two of you were still there- despite that she'd said your name when talking and everything.

"Well, to put it simply, that's why it's quite frightening to hear you _dreamt_ of a semi melting monster. You said they looked like Sans and I? In what way? Handsome? 'Cause indeed we are _very_ handsome! Honestly, if Sans could just be _cleaner_ , he'd be as popular as I!" Papyrus brightly states with regained volume to his voice, talking buoyantly as he jumps on his feet to strike a gallant pose.

Undyne snorts with laughter and looks back at you when you turn to check if she's brightened up, your eyes widening when Undyne's eye gains a sultry look and she hums. Your arm immediately retracts from her shoulder. You can sense she's back to her normal, torturous self, and you're suddenly regretting the decision of leaving the cheering up to Papyrus.

"Yeah, _(Name),_ you think they're handsome, right? I mean, you still have a date to go on with Papyrus... And you seemed so _nervous_ when we had you calling Sans on the way to Redbox yesterday after we took you to get your phone!" Undyne purrs, looking up at Papyrus behind you when a loud gasp is let out by the tall skeleton. You're already shaking your head 'no' as you turn to face the excited tall skeleton.

"You are interested in my brother _too_ , Miss Human?! Well, I do not blame you! After all, he _is_ related to a great monster like me!" Papyrus exclaims, looking ready to jump out of his battle body in his elation.

"No! No, I am _not!_ Undyne, put a cork in it, haven't you embarrassed me enough today?!" You hiss, your voice picking up now that the mood has returned back to normal. Undyne lets out a quick giggle, but shakes her head.

"Okay, okay... Well, what else happened in this dream you managed to have in a single minute? You weren't out for very long after you... Yeah," Undyne hesitates to finish her sentence, and you're confused- until you replay the story she'd told you from the underground.

All of a sudden, it all makes sense. Undyne was worried you were _done for,_ despite that you're a human.

She thought you weren't going to get back up, and although she may have reacted poorly during the moment, she really _had_ panicked and gotten scared.

You relax your emotions and nod. "Well, it took place in your home. Now. Like, our things were exactly where we left them, except for you guys. Your notebook and backpack were by the love seat, Papyrus things were where he left them, but you were gone. I ran around the house looking for you- I even went into yours and Alphys room. My brain totally made your room look so weeabooish, by the way," You add that last part in hopes to make her laugh, and when she lets out a snort of amusement, you continue. "The monster in my dream appeared after, and it started trying to talk to me with this weird static like noise. When that didn't work, it started using sign language."

Undyne blinks in surprise, gaping at you. "You know sign language too?!" Undyne asks in shock, while you tilt your head curiously at her. So Sans isn't the only one that uses sign language... When Undyne seems to sense your next query, she starts speaking again. "Frisk! Frisk is selectively mute, and they speak sign language. They totally taught us monsters how to speak in sign language back when we were underground! That's cool, Frisk said it wasn't common among people with working ears up here, but it's awesome to finally have another human that knows it!"

You nod and continue recounting your dream. "Well, the sign language this monster was using was... Weird. It wasn't ASL like Frisk and I know. It was like... Something completely different. I mean, I understood it, but I don't really know how," you explain before lifting your hands and beginning to make the hand symbols and signs you'd seen the monster make, mimicking what you could remember they had told you. It's not exact, but it's understandable, considering even the motions are familiar to you.

**'You will help. You were warned. No going back. Remember the time and the place.'**

Papyrus eye sockets widen at your hand motions and he yanks off his gloves immediately, tucking them under his battle body shell and revealing his bony phalanges...

And he begins to sign _your name_ in that unfamiliar sign language.

**'(Name)'.**

You drop your hands and gawk at him after pointing to yourself in reply, waiting for an explanation now that he's revealed something like that. What can you even _say_ to that? Something that was in your dream is directly related to Papyrus! The fuck?

 _"Sans_ taught me how to sign that way! I don't know where _he_ learned it, but when I was younger he taught me and told me it was our super secret brother language, and that no one else knew it! ...I am shocked you understand it!"

When staring at Papyrus isn't enough, you look back at Undyne for her take on things.

"(Name), I'm starting to think your dream is a little more important than _'just a dream'._ Since I don't understand that kind of sign language, can you translate? _"_ Undyne asks, before waiting for you or Papyrus to continue.

"Well, the rough translation is, 'You're going to help. You were warned. There is no going back, and remember the time and the place to something'..." Papyrus explains, looking towards you when he trails off in confusion. Without any context, of course he doesn't understand the last part well, but even the first three sentences are vague at best.

"Remember that day you came to visit me alone and I had woken up from a nightmare? When you told me about Frisk in the Undergound and how you were sent to hunt them down?" You ask Undyne, watching the fish monster nod after a second. "Well, I had a dream that night too. Static voice was there, trying to tell me something, but I didn't understand a lick of what they were saying. I think it was the same monster I saw in the dream I just had. In that dream, I went through this alley and came to a dead end where I saw this little monster... It was a cute frog monster with this orb that had a face on it."

"Oh!" Papyrus perks up at your words, kneeling down in front of the loveseat before you and Undyne so that you're all facing one another easier. "You are describing the charming little frog Froggit! There are a few of them around the city, they like the park areas the most- where the ponds are nice and they can get to Muffet's Cafe quickly!"

You wonder about this 'Muffet' person's cafe, before realizing they're probably a monster and quickly writing the place off. You'd be damned if you let any more monster saps trap you in their lives... Even if you did, sort of, kind of, maybe, quite possibly... _care_... But only a little! And it's so _miniscule!_ You care the minimum possible amount you can care for them! You still would rather be home alone- even _without_ Libby around!

"Well, I saw this Froggit get dusted by something." Papyrus shuts up pretty quickly after this comment. "It wasn't the same something of a monster I met in my dream just now either... It was something that didn't feel _natural._ Hell, it didn't even feel like it was a _monster._ It killed that Froggit, I know it did, but the monster didn't completely die... It was like this thing took over its old body, and there was this crusted hole through its body of hardened dust- like it was keeping the body together despite the soul already being destroyed. I woke up when it lunged for my face."

...

"Holy shit..." Undyne breathes, before she turns to look at Papyrus in shock. Papyrus look flabbergasted as well, but makes no comment other than to stare at you... Before letting out a nervous laugh.

"W-well, we don't know for sure whether this event might happen or not! The monster did say the time, correct? I remember you mentioned it asking you to remember both the time and the place. Perhaps it would be wise to show us where the dream took place as well?"

You don't know whether this will be helpful or a waste of time, but considering death is the result of your dream, you decide not to take any chances. "I don't have a day, I was only told time. 3:20 am at night..." You explain, making Papyrus grit his teeth for a moment.

"Hm... A late hour when the people expect it the least. Very clever of the beast," Papyrus huffs thoughtfully, while Undyne stands up to find her own boots and shove her feet in them, wet socks and everything. Considering you hate the feeling of wearing shoes without socks, you decide to just go barefooted like you'd done the night before when Sans locked you out of the house, standing and following the two casually.

"Whelp! Lead the way, _Girlie!"_ Undyne snarks with a smirk as she throws her front door open, resulting in you shooting her a sharp leer in return as you walk past her to direct them towards the destination.

Funny... Earlier you meant to completely cut things off by being your nastiest and meanest...

Somehow, the results were the complete opposite of what you wanted.

...You're not sure whether you dislike this or not...

And that scares you a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reset sat at her computer typing like a maniac, her fingers cramping and twitching like crazy in her hurry to finish before the deadline. She never meant for it to be like this... She was no stranger to procrastination, however, that was not the reason for her late update that Friday night. She'd vowed to have a chapter ready to upload every Friday at 2 am, just so that her beloved brethren could read as soon as the Friday hit, however...!
> 
> The frantic writer takes another glance at the time.
> 
> Her breath hitches and her typing fingers come to a dead stop. All the bones in her body rattle in fear as she reads the time one more time. Three more times.
> 
> No...!
> 
> This can't be!
> 
> It's...
> 
> "It's SATURDAY...!" She whispers just under her breath, stomach flipping with fear. 
> 
> She's finally done it.
> 
> She's... BROKEN HER PROMISE.
> 
> Reset looks up, eyes wide as dinner plates as the light to her room goes out, shattering and giving one last flash before the room goes dark- save for only the glow of light from the screen of her shitty laptop with a broken 'F' key. As her wide eyes glance around through the darkness, her heart begins to increase in speed and her breathing becomes labored. She knows what's about to happen next... She can feel it.
> 
> ...
> 
> A blue eye lights up in the darkness far, far behind Reset, and she stiffens up with fear. She can feel her sins crawling up her spine like spiders, ready to bite the most vulnerable spots of her backside. 
> 
> And then she hears it.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...
> 
> "so... who's ready to have a B A D T I M E ?"
> 
> Reset's soul trembles with terror, and her heart practically stops.
> 
> Her eyes turn back to her laptop, as she watches the mouse move without her accordance, shifting to click on the DOCUMENTS file of her computer hard drive. Her mouth cracks open and she desperately slides her finger on the mouse pad to regain control, but it's too late. She has sinned and it's out of her hands.
> 
> "No...! No, wait! PLEASE! I'm sorry!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO...!" Reset gasps, her voice rising with her panic as the mouse opens up more directories, until it gets to the giant file reading... "Cat Videos"
> 
> Her throat nearly clogs up, and she struggles to even whisper as the mouse hovers above the file tauntingly. Water begins to form at the corners of her eyes as she shakes her head side to side.
> 
> "No...!" She whispers. "No... No...!"
> 
> With a click, the options open and the mouse drags over to the "delete" button. Reset is gaping... And with a click it all vanishes.
> 
> "NOOOOOO!!" She screams at the top of her lungs, grabbing at her head in disbelief. They're gone... They're all gone.
> 
> And she knows it's her own fault... Because it's SATURDAY.
> 
> With a piercing scream, the roof to her home breaks open as if struck by lightning, and reveals a stormy sky where a giant kitten looks down at her from above the hole with curious blue eyes, as blue as the single eye still staring at her from the shadows at the back of her room is. Her eyes are ready to pop out of her head, but she can't bring herself to get up. It's all over.
> 
> With one mighty and cute swipe, the kitten reaches in and uses SWAT to snatch up Reset, who is dragged out of her home kicking and screaming bloody murder. Once the screaming is far enough that it can no longer be heard, the figure in the back of the room moves up to take a seat at the desk once occupied by the writer. They kick up their feet by the desk, dragging the keyboard past their fuzzy pink slippers and onto their lap lazily.
> 
> Tipping their head back, they take a large swig from a Heinz Ketchup bottle- causing the blue hood of their jacket to reveal the skeletal features of their face. Once they're ready to get to work, the 'ahh' in satisfaction and set the bottle of ketchup on the desk by their crossed ankles.
> 
> "whelp. time to finally take over. i know how to wrap this up... 'once upon a time, there was a cool skeleton and his even cooler brother... the end.' ah, yes. what a tale. they'll definitely appreciate this."
> 
> ___________
> 
> ...SO YEAH, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED, BYE.
> 
> Links:  
> [Cartilage Melon Fang Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	15. Battle for Her Hand in Dateage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the trip to show Undyne and Papyrus where your dream takes place, you run into some new faces- as well as one annoying smiley trashbag that accompanies them.

Chapter 15: Battle for Her Hand in Dateage

 

"...This is it," you say, turning to face Undyne and Papyrus behind you after they catch up from locking the car and parking properly. Papyrus was driving this time, and he actually managed to make the ride feel even _more_ dangerous than being when being driven around by _Undyne._ You see, when _he's_ driving- Undyne goes on to play "teacher".

Because Papyrus only _has a permit._

Needless to say, the entire ride you clung to your seat like a lifeline and prayed Papyrus would find a _real_ teacher to teach him how to drive.

"Hey, this is the same alley you were trying to walk into like a zombie yesterday!" Undyne blurts out, causing a few pedestrians on the sidewalk to flinch away, startled by her volume. Not really surprising at all, but you notice she's also startled a few pedestrians that are even monsters just like her, specifically a jumpy and small bunny monster with a striped baby blue and light orange tank top on. You watch as the bunny suddenly skips off to catch up with their much more relaxed mother a way ahead of them, who turns to make sure her kit is nearby.

You give Undyne a look, raising your eyebrow in question while watching her laugh sheepishly when she has nothing to say for herself.

"Miss Human is right! You must not scream about this hoopla at such a loud volume! You might startle the young ones!" Papyrus scolds her knowingly, despite his own voice causing some poor passerby's human infant to begin crying loudly. Papyrus, hearing the crying, immediately deflates in despondence when Undyne snorts in amusement at the result of his voice.

"You were saying, oh great one?" Undyne sasses, causing you to snap your fingers a few times to get their attention as you turn to start walking into the alley, with nothing but the memory of your dream to lead the way.

After a few pauses and moments to kind of feel the way with nonexistent muscle memory (since it was a dream), you eventually turn the last corner and sharply inhale. Everything is exactly how you saw it in nightmare... And if you must be honest, it's _pretty_ unnerving. You've never even walked down this alley before. This isn't on the way to the college- in fact, it's in the opposite direction if anything.

But it's definitely the place. The garbage cans, the dumpster pressed against the left wall of the dead end... Even down to the smallest detail- it's all there as you slowly walk forward and step atop a couple of ripped segments of cardboard boxes scattered across the ground. You're so engrossed with studying the familiarity and details that you practically jump a foot in the air when someone puts a hand on your shoulder.

"You doin' okay, girlie?" Undyne asks, even though you can see the light of amusement in her eye after she manages to scare you.

"Yeah, it's just..." You turn back towards the scene, face going a little pale. "It's a little freaky. It's _exactly_ how I saw it in my dream... And I've never been here before right now."

Undyne's amusement fades into a different look, much to your confusion when you look back at her. You're not sure what the expression is supposed to mean, but it's nothing that ridicules you or tries to accuse you of anything.

...

"Listen, (Name)... If your dreams _do_ end up coming true like some kind of fortune of the future, I'm going to have to take you to see King Asgore and Queen Toriel," Undyne speaks firmly, any and all humor evaporating as she straightens up to assume the role of Captain of the Royal Guard. You can see the seriousness of her words in her eyes, but despite that, you can't say you're at all very surprised.

You'd been thinking about it the entire dangerous car ride here- even as tense as you were and as horrified as you felt watching Papyrus swerve past ongoing traffic, you had fleeting thoughts about what those dreams meant for you if they were real warnings and not just the random dreams of a college girl with a vivid imagination.

If the dreams came to pass- and this is just assuming they _don't_ end up being dreams- you more or less figure that means you can see into the future... Right? Well, somehow, that doesn't sound correct to you. Even hearing Undyne saying it feels sort of wrong. Again, shoving aside the idea they're just stupid dreams, you aren't sure they're exactly your visions... In a way, it's almost like Static (what you decided to call the melting monster in your dream) is the one showing you the visions in your dreams.

...You wonder if he also showed you the nightmare from last night. The dream where you yourself were dusted, unraveled from every shred of your being- body and soul. Memories of the dream make you shudder and quickly think about the overall situation again.

So if they _are_ real visions, you can't tell the future by yourself. _Static_ has to show you... and if you're wrong and it really _is_ you that's telling the future, then what? Undyne would take you to Asgore and Toriel regardless of if it's you or not, and without proof, it would look like it's all you. What would happen to you then? A human that can see into the future?

"I... Don't know how things will turn out with King Asgore, girlie. Humans that tell the future... That might mean you have _magic_. Humans that have magic might not be well received by Asgore and a huge chunk of the monster population. After all, human mages were the ones that trapped us under the mountain in the first place... He might, um, kill ya, actually. I mean, I'll protect you though, don't worry! Besides, Toriel is a major softie. Appeal to her and you'll be on Asgore's good side. Your bestie knows you aren't a bad person- even if you pretend to be," Undyne snickers, probably waiting for you to make a face at her last words.

 _He might_ kill _me?_ _Just for having magic?_

"Didn't it take _several_ mages to lock you guys up though? I'm just one person- one that likely _doesn't_ have magical powers like that. I mean, this is the first time anything like this has happened to me, I've never experienced a single magical thing in my life! This is- The similarities are just a coincidence, is all. It might just be my brain filling in some blanks," you insist, hoping to prove a few points if it will help keep you away from the King of Monsters. Despite these comments, Undyne just bites her lip and gives a quiet exhale.

"I get that. Really, I do... But it's out of my hands. Please understand that I just want to try and make sure we are all safe. If this thing goes after a monster, it automatically makes it top priority. There's already been two dustings recently that have appeared extremely unnatural when the remains were examined by Alphys. If you have some kind of indirect connection that can help us..." Undyne trails off, her single eye narrowing on you as her tone sharpens. "I'm afraid you'll have to help us. Whether you want to or not."

You shake your head quickly at her words. "It's not that I don't _want_ to, it's that I don't wanna have my life threatened! _Again!"_ You say, purposefully giving her a pointed look that makes her suspicion quickly fade into a stiff look of glee.

"Oh, come off it, girlie. It was totally fun chasing you around the college," Undyne giggles, while you grit your teeth in aggravation and turn away to look at Papyrus...

Who isn't around.

Bewildered by his lack of a presence, you glance around and spin in a circle, causing Undyne to cock her head to the side in confusion at your behavior- until she too notices. Both of you are soon whipping your heads around to find him, but to no avail.

"Where'd Papyrus go?" You ask, feeling the contents of your stomach sink in horror as you ask those words. Those are words you wish you’d _never_ have to utter, considering Sans is practically breathing down your neck as it is when it comes to his brother's safety. Your palms begin to break out in a sweat when you remember why you're down that specific alleyway. What if that thing makes an early appearance?

And Papyrus is all by himself?!

"Calm down! I'm sure he's probably just wandering right outside the alley and... Let's hurry," Undyne says with a stiff look of panic after a second of letting her own words sink in. She reaches out and grabs hold of your wrist to start racing through the many twists and turns of alleys. Startled by the sudden shift in speed, you gasp and struggle to keep up with her.

Honestly, you didn't even _know_ living things were capable of running at the speeds Undyne and Papyrus were able to achieve... Regardless, you hope that whatever has ended up keeping Papyrus from following is safe and _not_ life threatening- only because you know Sans would have your head if something ended up happening to him with you around. As you push yourself to keep up with Undyne, you can almost _feel_ those walking fingers going up and down your spine again, ready to apply some painful pressure at any moment.

You and Undyne burst out from the alley with a leap on Undyne's part, the fish bitch letting out an energetic roar (though you don't really know why) as she lands in the middle of the sidewalk and startles more than just a few people of varying types when she appears out of nowhere with you dangling behind her and half collapsed against the floor. You're breathing particularly hard from having to force your legs to keep up with her running speed, and although a few people are shooting you looks of concern, no one speaks up to ask if you're okay.

Of course, you don't blame them. If you didn't know Undyne any better, you'd be pressed to think one bad comment would make her bite off your head.

...Then again, she would likely turn you into a harpoon pincushion...

"Hmmmm- Ah- _hah!_ DUDE! Paps, why'd you just _vanish_ like that?! We were looking all around for you, you lousy punk!" Undyne shouts over the crowd of civilians, carelessly dragging you along the ground behind her as if you were a teddy bear. Considering you're so tired and you've been running her speed _barefooted_ , you resolve to deal with the stares and just _let_ her.

You're probably getting dirt all over your clothes... and you probably look like a complete mess. Whatever though, not like everyone can be perfect or anything.

"Undyne! Look who I found wandering the streets with my brother!" You almost let out a pathetic groan of aggravation at Papyrus' brightly uttered words. Sans _AGAIN?!_ Why's he keep showing up everywhere?!

 _I'll be lucky if I ever go out one day without seeing him_ once _. Honestly, where was he when we were first texting?! Why's he only popping up out of nowhere NOW?!_

A little voice in the back of your head tells you he's popping out of nowhere because he's keeping an eye socket on you, but you're so annoyed that you just press a hand over your closed eyelids in frustration. Why doesn't he just _demand_ his friends to leave you alone? Why doesn't he _tell them_ why you're awful? Why's he gotta be so fucking-?

"My child, are you alright?"

You remove the hand from over your face in confusion, quickly replaying the sound of the new voice in your head a couple times. That can't be Papyrus or Sans- it's a woman's voice... But it also can't be Undyne, because this voice is like melted honey and chocolate gently spun together. Their voice sounds like sweet music... And Undyne talks so _harshly_ and _deeply_ that it just seems like a stark comparison to it. So if it's not Undyne, then...?

You lift your head in time to see a monster looming over you and blocking out most of the daylight, causing you to jump back in panic when all that your eyes initially see is the shadowed figure of a large, horned beast standing before you.

"Oh! Please don't be frightened. I won't hurt you," the voice says, as the figure crouches down to your seated level. Light from the setting sun spills over her and you relax when you make out the snow white fur of the monster, floppy rounded ears framing either side of her feminine face. There is a scarlet hue you can make out in her eyes, which glimmer with such a strange kindness that you immediately freeze up under her warm gaze. You feel a trigger of a memory in the back of your mind, and although you can't remember when it happened and you _know_ it wasn't from this unfamiliar monster, you find this gaze somehow... _Familiar._

Noticing your awestruck gaze, the goat-like monster gives a fluttery giggle, startling you into jumping to your feet when you realize how much of an idiot you're acting in front of a mon-

...Wait. Why do _you_ care? You don't care. She's just another monster. You can act however you want.

The woman stands back up to smile at you, adjusting the lovely gold and white scarf that rests over her shoulders. Adorning her body is a casual deep purple short sleeved dress and although she appears casual, she looks so... So _elegant_. You momentarily wonder how she pulls off the look, but soon feel someone jab your ribs with their elbow, causing you to squeak and turn to see Undyne staring down at you with a tauntingly snooty expression of amusement.

"So? You gonna answer her? Or are you planning to just stare at her all day?"

_Wait, what?_

"Huh?" You ask dumbly like a moron, causing Undyne to turn and start guffawing loudly once she is a couple steps away.

You hear more laughter from behind the monster, and much to your horror, Sans and Papyrus are snickering loudly at your predicament.

 _Idiot!_ You scold yourself, feeling a rise in heat from your neck to the tips of your ears.

You look back at the goat monster apologetically. "I'm sorry, I..."

_What are you sorry for?! Don't be sorry, who freaking cares if you were staring at her! She's only a monster!_

"Oh, it's quite alright. I did startle you, after all... Might you be a friend of Undyne's and Papyrus'?" She inquires thoughtfully, causing you to side glance at the fish bitch that is now charging back towards you and the goat monster as she hears her ask this question.

As your chest begins to constrict in fear the closer Undyne gets, you vaguely answer, "We go to the same college."

If the goat monster senses the real meaning behind your words, she doesn't show it. While the goat monster grins charmingly at your words, Undyne suddenly leaps to your side and pulls your head down against her small chest in a chokehold, much to your disdain and further embarrassment. A grunt of annoyance escapes you, but when she begins to noogie your head, it becomes a full blown snapping of anger as you try to squirm out of her iron grip.

"Nah, Tori, we're **besties**!" Undyne claims with that sneer of delight as she watches you try to pry her arm from around your neck. Eventually, she releases you and snorts when you shoot her a dirty look. Rather than escalate the scene, you rub your neck carefully and turn back to face the goat monster.

...

Wait... Did she call her _Tori?_ As in...?

"What might your name be, child?" She asks with that silky voice of hers, causing a shiver at the back of your spine that makes your previous thought dissolve away. What a sweet voice...!

 **_STOP_ ** _THAT._

You give her your name anxiously, watching her nod in thought before smiling and putting a hand over her chest. "I am Toriel Dreemurr."

_Shit._

You look up at Undyne nervously when you hear this, causing Undyne to snort and pat your head casually. "Don't worry about it. She's a softie," Undyne reminds you out loud, while you look back up at Toriel.

Of course, you don't stick your arm out at her for a handshake. Regardless, Toriel seems unbothered by your sudden silence. "If you're nervous because you heard I was once queen... You can relax. I resigned from that position. I'm but a simple elementary school teacher and a mother now," she informs you gently, before turning back to look at the ground behind her. "Why don't you come and say hi, Frisk?"

_Wonder Kid?_

When you hear the cute laughter of a child come from behind Toriel, as well as some chuckling on Papyrus' and Toriel's part, you realize you've said it out loud and look down in embarrassment again.

Movement from behind Toriel has you glancing up again and your eyes meet with a small kid- no more than seven or eight as they huddle behind the goat monster's dress and stare up at you with their curious brown orbs. Before you can do anything, they come out from behind her and quickly relocate in front of you, holding their hands up in a way you recognize from Papyrus and Sans.

Right, Undyne said Frisk taught the entire underground how to understand sign language...

**'You know what my shirt's made of?'**

Your eyebrows furrow at the kid's query, and you think you hear Toriel start to speak before Undyne shakes her head out of the corner of your eye and whispers something you can't hear to Toriel.

You cock your head to the side in reply, and the kid gulps- as if not really sure you understand them.

**'Boyfriend material!'**

At his reply you let out a laugh of disbelief, pressing the palm of your hand against your cheek as Frisk's grin brightens considerably when it appears you understand. No one told you Wonder Kid was a _flirt,_ dear god...

Once you've gathered yourself, you hold up your hands with some lingering snickers.

**'Okay, Wonder Kid. I'll make sure to take your shirt out on a date then.'**

Undyne lets out a bark of laughter. "Oh, dude...!" She snorts, looking down at Frisk as they face palm and look up to pout at the fish bitch. _"Re-JECTED!_ Not one of your best ones, Nerd! You walked right into that one!"

"Frisk, what did I tell you about flirting with people?" Toriel scolds the kid in front of you gently, though the amusement sparkling in her scarlet eyes betrays her true thoughts on the adorable display.

 **'But she's a thief! She stole my heart!'** Frisk adorably argues, a determined look pinned to their face as they face their guardian while signing.

Toriel just laughs at their claims while Papyrus marches over to your side with a haughty grin of pride, throwing one arm to rest over your back. You notice Sans' left eye flash for a half of a second when his brother does this, and just as you think you're about to have a bad time, he relaxes once more beside Toriel. His facade of nonchalance may fool everyone else, but you can see the guarded look in his eye sockets as he watches Papyrus rest some of his weight on your crouched position. It's a bit uncomfortable on your calves and knees, but you resist standing up immediately since Sans is low-key mad dogging you.

"My apologies, puny human! Miss Human cannot go on a date with you because she has already promised _me_ a date!" Papyrus explains before linking an arm under yours to pull you up to your feet. It's so sudden that your legs nearly tangle in the process, and it takes a bit of squirming in his hold until you are standing properly.

At this, Frisk shakes their head and holds up their hands again. **'I'll win her over with my date power! It's stronger than yours!'**

You frown in confusion at this, but there's a smile still playing on your lips. What do they mean by "date power"...?

Papyrus lets out an exaggerated gasp of shock, leaning down to Frisk's level with a leer of suspicion. "Are you challenging me for Miss Human's hand in _dateage?!"_

Frisk steps back with one leg and points at Papyrus in a pose that is so comical, you can't help but snicker a little. It's soon changed as Frisk starts signing again.

**'I challenge you!'**

_Oh dear god, this is unbelievable... So cute but unbelievable. A kid and a skeleton are fighting to take me out on a date. Is this really happening or am I just dreaming?_

While Frisk and Papyrus proceed to hold their fists up and slowly walk around each other in a circle, you pinch the skin the skin of your arm pensively. A prickle of pain forms in the area of your pinch and you look back up at the wonder kid and the tall skeleton.

_Nope. I'm totally awake._

"Dang, (Name). Everyone wants a piece of you!" Undyne snorts, turning to face someone beside you with a shark-like grin. "Not gonna join the fight for (Name), _nerd?"_

You turn around in confusion, only to flinch violently when you find Sans standing right beside you- eye lights already staring up at you much to your discomfort. Like, shit, when did he get there?!

"Nah. I like my dates with a **little** **less meat on their bones** ," Sans replies with a wink towards Undyne before he is looking back at you again to see your reaction.

You bristle a little at his words, unsure if he's saying you're too chubby to date... Or if he means he only dates skeletons. Frustrated by his pointed words, you look back towards the battle between Papyrus and Frisk again. Any distraction from Sans' annoying and unnerving gaze will work. Honestly though, you shouldn't really care about what he says at all- you wouldn't date _fat-bones_ if someone held you at gunpoint.

Undyne's jaw drops open wide, and from past Frisk and Papyrus, you can see Toriel's jaw also agape in shock at your words. Once you spot the two's expressions, you slap a hand over your mouth with wide and horrified eyes. You said that out loud again, didn't you?! Woman, get yourself a filter! Way to make an impression on the monster queen...

_Shit, shit, shit...!_

Sans chuckles beside you, but other than that, he is silent for the most part. You wonder if you've hurt his feelings... But rather than apologize and check on him like a normal person guilty of such an act would, you merely cross your arms and make sure you can't see him whatsoever. Sans is the _least_ deserving person for an apology. If anything, he should be saying sorry to _you!_

"Ouch, Miss Human. You sure have some verbal **ammunition** right there," Sans starts to joke, resulting in you to bite down on your tongue. You know _exactly_ what he's trying to do right now, considering the burning sensation of eye lights on your face. He's watching, waiting for you to crack like you'd done a few times already. Why he would want to make you laugh though, you're not sure... But it's probably not for a good reason, considering how he's been to you so far. "You really know how to **shoot** down a guy, sweet tart."

"Please stop calling me that," you reply much to Undyne's surprise, as her single eye slightly widens from the corner of your eye when she hears you. You don't pay much mind to her when she slowly backs away towards Toriel- either to stand back in case you blow up at Sans, or to explain to Toriel what the issue is between you and Sans.

Namely: that Sans is a jerk who needs to get a life.

...Or at least, that's what you hope Undyne is telling her. 'Cause really, Sans _does_ need to get a life.

 _"Make me,"_ Sans replies in stride, causing you to finally look over at him in disbelief. You know Toriel and Undyne are watching the two of you, but you can hardly bring yourself to care after what Sans says. As you meet his lazy gaze, he shoots you one of those aggravating winks.

Of course you lose this round. You can't make this monster do _anything._ He hardly does anything at all, considering how Papyrus has freaking described him! Also, you're a human. You'd be pressed down into a pancake with his magic before you could _ever_ try to land a slap or punch on him.

You make a snort of disdain and step away from him to get some space to control your rising temper. Much to your dismay, you notice him move and look to see that the skeleton has decided to torment you by taking a step closer to your side. You're now no further from him than you were to begin with.

Thinking he's only going to do it once, you step away again and stare at him challengingly.

Sans follows you, his grin getting a little wider as he watches your expression turn dark with annoyance.

You make a noise of discontent and take two more steps away. Once again, Sans closes the constructed distance by taking those two steps closer towards you.

 _Damn it, can you_ not _?!_

Realizing this is a battle you can't win by yourself, you decide to walk on over towards your pair of, ehrm, _suitors._ Both are busy making fighting poses and threatening gestures, but neither actually engage in actual melee whatsoever, making it easy to march up to them and place yourself beside the two. Once they notice you, they both freeze and stop their swaggering to face you in obvious delight.

"Miss Human! What can I do for you that Frisk cannot?" Papyrus asks, all the while gloating at Frisk when the smaller kid suddenly puffs their cheeks up in an attempt to uphold their pride.

You hold your hands up in front of you, where Sans can't see what you're saying.

 **'There's a bad guy harassing me with puns. He's over there,'** you pause to stab a thumb back at Sans, glancing behind to see his raised brow bone and questioning expression. ' **Whoever can take him down to the ground first... Can take me out on a date tomorrow night.'**

Like magic, Papyrus' and Frisk's heads snap over to Sans like robots, eyes narrowing sharply in a way that makes the shorter skeleton stiffen up in apprehension as he stands where you left him, hands shoved in the pockets of his red hoodie. There is a beat of silence as you turn to face Sans and give him a snarky grin that makes his left eye flash blue momentarily in panic. He has no idea what you've told his brother and Frisk, that much is obvious, and you relish the look on his face for a couple of seconds.

You raise a hand and snap your fingers twice, before looking back at the two and pointing at Sans.

"Go get 'im," you calmly order.

There is a moment in which you see them- but within that same moment the two are flying forward towards Sans in a rush. One is, not surprisingly, faster than the other.

"I will not lose, human! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus shouts at the top of his... Er, voice, leaping up to pounce on Sans' surprised and waiting figure. "Forgive me, Brother, but your days of harassing civilians with puns has reached its end!"

Sans seems to understand the situation now as he stares up at his descending, taller brother- and before your eyes seems to register it, Sans blips out of existence where he stands, leaving his brother to quickly plant his gloved hands on the sidewalk to summersault back into an offensive stance.

You look around, and in no time, you see Sans leaning against a wall with a casual shrug towards his brother once he spots him again from where he is crouched.

"Come on, bro... You're not gonna let 'Miss Human' order someone as great as you around for no reason, are you?" Sans visibly tries to reason with his brother, offering the skeleton a grin from where he stands a good ten feet away. You watch as Sans' grin falters slightly at the dangerous smirk that Papyrus gives him, the tall skeleton standing up straight and taking a step closer towards his shorter brother.

"Miss Human said a villainous troll is harassing her with puns! If I take you down before Frisk, I get a date with her tomorrow night... Please understand, brother, that this is most certainly _not_ for no reason!" Papyrus says, ready to pounce again.

You giggle sharply when you notice someone creeping up on Sans, causing the skeleton to dart his sockets in your direction with a dangerous glare. Before he can say anything, Frisk lets out a happy laugh and grabs onto Sans' sweater hood, pulling it forward over the skeleton's surprised face as the smaller kid attempts to trip him into hitting the ground with cackles of mischief.

 _Yes! Get him, get him! You can do it!_ You're cheering wildly in your head, a hand pressed against your mouth to hide your naughty delight as Toriel and Undyne walk over to join you where you're watching Sans struggle to swing Frisk off in his panic.

"You don't get along too well with Sans, do you, (Name)...?" Toriel asks carefully, despite her tone still giving off that gentle lilt that both warms your soul and makes it flutter nervously at the same time.

"Psh! Are you kidding? Those two _hate_ each other, and they just met last night! I say it's Sans' fault though, he was totally provoking her and getting all 'protective' over Papyrus," Undyne claims.

Whelp, it's out. Everyone is now completely aware of Sans' issues.

"Shut it, Undyne," you hear Sans snap from where his is attempting to wrestle his hood off of his face, swinging Frisk around to get them to release their iron grip on his hood. You can see Papyrus racing over to try and get to Sans before Frisk succeeds, but Sans soon teleports into another area behind you, Frisk still clinging on until they seem to let go and land on all fours, lifting one hand to rub their face with a look of annoyance as Sans makes haste to put some distance between himself and the kid.

 _Huh. I never thought teleportation would make someone feel uncomfortable... Frisk looks a little disoriented,_ you observe, watching their minor scuffle to make sure nothing bad happens to the monster ambassador. Hey, if it's anything to go by, Sans is a total jerk. What if he accidentally hurts Frisk?

Sure, you're probably concerned over nothing- those two look like they're good friends- but if Sans wants to illogically make you out to be a villainous human out to hurt his brother, then you're allowed to make _him_ out to be a villainous monster out to hurt humans! Nyeh.

...

 _Did I just "nyeh" in my head? Shit. I'm hanging around Papyrus too much..._ You think, reaching up to run an hand down your face while Papyrus flings himself around a light post to catch his side stepping brother. From what you can see, Sans appears to be tiring himself with his excessive use of magic, appearing and disappearing every time Papyrus changes his tactics to pin him down. Panic resurfaces across his skeletal face as he sees Frisk getting up once more- prepared to take the short skeleton to the ground.

Sans blips out of existence again, and much to yours and everyone else's confusion, it looks like he's finally left the area entirely. You suspect he was only sticking around for a bit to humor his brother's enthusiasm, and let out a soft sigh once your goal of getting Sans out of your business was achieved.

"Aw, where'd he go?!" Papyrus huffs downcast, sharing a look with Frisk before they both turn to face you, Undyne, and Toriel. As soon as Papyrus makes eye contact with you, his sockets widen in shock. "Miss Human, watch out!"

Two arms, stronger than you ever expected them to be, clamp around you tightly with a sudden force that makes you yelp loudly in surprise. In one moment, you're lifted off your feet by this unseen force, arms pinned to your sides by their grip. When you try to look back, all you can make out is the color red. You can guess who it is, but considering your shock at the sudden contact between the two of you, you fall dead silent and stare wordlessly at the red sleeves.

With a **Pop!** Your world suddenly twists-

"-Ow!" You complain, landing flat on your face with a weight pressing down against your back much to your immediate disdain. You're on a bed, that much you can make out, but the 'where' is all over the place since Sans is _completely_ in your personal space. Despite the teleportation, you don't feel sick like Frisk appeared to when Sans took him for a lift, so you decide that discomfort probably varies with age. "Idiot, why did you drag _me_ along...?!"

You try to furiously wrestle yourself away from him just as he is doing the same, but other the tangling of limbs and the sheets of the bed you've both landed on, you two only manage to entangle yourselves even _more_ than before. The two of you are stuck and Sans appears to be completely spent from being chased around by his much more athletic brother, breathing heavily and glaring at you like everything is your fault despite that he has no lungs. It looks like teleporting for him is out of the question.

"Call the date with my brother off- and don't even _think_ you're going on a date with Frisk," Sans gruffly pants, eye sockets going dark when you glare right back. You're scared, of course, he's a freaking nut-case that wants to clearly murder you. Are you going to keep letting him walk all over you and heckle you? No!

You seriously need to practice growing guts, or else he's just going to think he can do whatever the heck he wants.

 _"Make_ me," you hiss his earlier words, despite that you- of course- could care less about going on a date with Papyrus to begin with. As for Frisk... Well, of course it wouldn't be a _real_ date, but hanging out with that kid might be kind of fun. They're such a little charmer- and although you wouldn't say you really like kids, Frisk's actually pretty fun considering their flirty style.

Sans falters slightly, obviously stunned by your answer. You register the fault in your words soon after you say it, and considering you should _know_ better than to provoke him like that after the whole locked-out-of-the-house shit that happened last night, you struggle to untangle yourself once again before he can snap out of his state and dunk on you.

Surprisingly, Sans just watches with a grumpy look of disgust on his face as you manage to untangle a single leg from the mess. Anything else is still stuck in the mess, and no matter how you pull, without Sans' added efforts, you're not getting out of this.

"You could _help,_ you know? Considering this is your fault!" You snap, meeting his unwavering glare. He probably brought you along to get you alone- where he can threaten you and harass you without running the risk of Undyne or Papyrus jumping to your rescue! What a coward!

"That's hilarious. _Who_ had my brother and the kid chasing after me again? Hmm... Oh, that's right, _you,"_ Sans growls, leaning in to place his darkened sockets right in your face. Considering he's practically straddling you, he definitely has the upper hand in this argument. Would you back down though? Nope.

You growl right back, although yours sounds a lot more threatening. "Get out of my face, Sans."

"Or _what?"_ He replies, smirking slightly at the look of uncertainty that fleetingly crosses your face. "What are you doing to do?"

You try to get a foot up to kick him, but Sans seems aware of what you want to do and pins your legs down by pressing his constricted, bony hands against your thighs. All this contact with him makes you want to wretch already, but as soon as you feel the sensitive nerves of your thighs activate from his touch, you jump and your expression suddenly begins to grow panicked. Monster or not, erogenous zones will be erogenous zones, and you can't help but shiver in both disgust and...  _URGH!_

You're going to be sick.

"Hands off!" You snap vehemently, struggling against his larger form by pressing both your palms against his chest to push him back from you so you can fight the pressure on your legs to get a foot in kicking position. Surely he knows his hands are in a no-touch area, right? Or is he some kind of human-lusting pervert?! You can feel every ridge and crack between his ribs as you do push at his chest, but because of the sheets tangled around your arms, you can't put all your strength in pushing him off. Sans meanwhile, just laughs sarcastically at your attempts to fight him, making you even angrier.

You let out an enraged, rather animalistic snarl, one that you never thought you could make under normal circumstances. In fact, you're quite sure you've heard Undyne making noises like that... Maybe she's rubbing off on you just like Papyrus is. That's a problem.

"LET GO OF ME SO I CAN PUNCH YOU!" You bark, watching as his laughter continues when a burst of spontaneous energy engulfs you. You squirm and start beating your fists uselessly against him, trying to get him to back off. Sadly, from your positions, Sans only has to lean back a little to keep his face out of your clawing and punching range. He looks pleased by your reaction to the situation. "Stupid! Annoying...!  _Lazy-ass,_  sonof a...!"

You eventually tire after much violent writhing and struggling, allowing your head fall back against the bed as you relax to catch your completely uneven breath, hating the way Sans just watches you- malignant amusement dancing in his eye lights.

"Fuck... You..." You pant uselessly, desperate for any way to attack him. Even if it's only using your words, at least it makes you feel a little better.

"No thanks," he replies, while you make another desperate attempt to pull your right leg out from under his hand. Sans casually applies extra pressure to keep you from moving it, though it's not much since he knows you're completely out of energy.

"I hope... You get hit... By a meteor..." You huff, watching his brow bones knit together- as if he's looking for something on your face.

"Still **burning** with rage, eh? I mean, you're **star** -ting to get a bit **rocky** with your insults there. You should just give up and text my brother that you won't go on a date with him. I'll handle him afterwards if he gets upset. Come on, Miss Human, it's the perfect deal- you'll get your  **space** back and everything. All you've gotta do is say 'yes'," He puns with a cheeky grin, reaching up with one hand to touch his cheekbone with mock concern and glaring at you beneath the nonchalant smile.

You know he's giving you a way out, without need for any hassle or fight. Although he's using puns to try and butter you up first, he's still offering you an escape route from hanging out with his brother...

But that doesn't mean  _Undyne_ will leave you alone. And who hangs out with Undyne the most, not counting Alphys? Oh, that's right- PA- _FUCKING_ -PYRUS! If you refuse to take Papyrus even  _once,_ you might be stuck getting puppy-dog eyes from the tall skeleton every time Undyne drags you off. What if... What if Papyrus ends up bugging you  _even more_ if you reject him. What if he gets all  _Yandere-y_ _?_ No, you  _need_ to go on that date. It's all clear now. You need to convince the skeleton you're the worst person by going on that date with him. That's your  _real_ ticket out.

Then it'll only be a matter of time before Undyne and Alphys decide to leave you be. You don't know how to deal with those two, but you'll figure it out eventually... 

... _Wait, Sans lifted a hand up!_ You realize, eyeing his hand against his face as he stares at you- waiting for your reply.

You spot his mistake before he does, and with another sudden burst of energy, you bring your left foot against his chest and prepare to give him the kick of the  _century._ His eye sockets widen and he grabs your ankle before you can kick, causing him to push your knee back against your chest to keep you from kicking him. You struggle, but eventually gain some leverage. You may not have impressive upper arm strength like Undyne does, but when it comes to your legs, you're all  _muscle_ like she is.

Sans meets your gaze with rising panic as he tries to push you away, and his left eye lights up a blue-gold, causing you to frown and stare him dead in the eye. You're not backing down, no matter what. You've got this!

With the last of your breath caught after your first expenditure of energy, you sneer at Sans. 

" _No._ I'm going on a date with Papyrus. If you have a problem with it, **c** **omet _,_** me bro," you challenge with a mad grin curled across your face.

Sans' eye visibly flares to life with energy and you hear something above you whir into existence loudly, before the sound of a door opening catches your attention enough to get you to turn and see who's just entered what you've now registered is most _definitely_ your room. You're currently scrunching your nose in anger at the fact that someone's entered before you can minister your kick without any prying eyes, but when you see who is standing at your doorway, you freeze up anxiously.

As if noticing the change in your demeanor, Sans follows your gaze and his glare softens when he sees the person in your doorway. Just like that, his eye lights return to their regular white color and whatever is above you pops out of existence once more. Hm, wonder what  _that_ was...

"Oh, hey, Libbs. 'Sup?" He asks easily, raising a tangled arm easily and bringing your trapped leg- the other one that was once trapped under his grip- up with his arm as he waves. Still unnerved by his surprising strength, you begin to shuffle away towards the edge of the bed to try and squirm away out of your entrapment.

Soft meows echo from behind your best friend, and soon your kitten is in your room- attempting to jump on the bed. It isn't until they climb up that you realize they're trying to get to Sans, who chuckles at the kitten and gives it's mewling head a good little rub between the ears.

Libby just stares wordlessly at the two of you in clear confusion from where she stands, but makes no move to do anything or say anything at first. Looks like she only _just_ got home from class, if her casual outfit is anything to go by. There's something else besides surprise hiding in her sharp irises as she looks from you to Sans and back, but before you can identify what it is, she wipes it off of her face entirely. She clears her throat and walks over to help you when you successfully reach the edge of your bed, tipping yourself over only to become suspended half falling off the bed by the sheets that connect you to the unmoving Sans as he pets your kitten casually.

 _You could help, you JERK!_ You snarl in your head, considering Sans is no longer making any attempts to escape his confines to you.

As if you're a child, Libby bends down and gives you this scolding look, beginning to unwrap you from the sheets carefully. You can't help but avoid her gaze when she does this, the memory of your last conversation still fresh in your mind.

Sans is here, and so is Libby... Technically you can get the truth of what happened when you disappeared if you say something right now. You can figure out why Libby lied... You can find out why she chose to preserve her dignity facing the cops over finding you. You can show Sans that Libby dragged him into this mess by blaming her lack of action on him.

...

But you don't. Because you love her.

And you want to give her the chance to bring it up herself. Who knows, maybe she has more reasons not to go to the police than you think...? Or... You might just be grasping at straws. But you're willing to give her time before confronting her yourself. Also, you'd much rather do it in private- you don't want to embarrass her, you want answers.

You allow Libby to untangle you from the sheets with her expert piano fingers, Sans intently watching the way the two of you silently communicate without words- merely by the looks you sneak of one another either when one of you are looking or when you think she isn't looking at you. For a moment, you even forget Sans is in the room, but a soft mewl reminds you he's just busy with the kitten. You wonder what Sans thinks about the two of you briefly, until you remember that you shouldn't care about _anything_ the jerk thinks.

Only once you are free do you calmly pull away from Libby to stand up, brushing the lint off of yourself as you face Sans one more time with a refined glare. You hold your head up despite the glare he is already returning.

"I'm going back to Undyne's then. Feel free _not_ to show up," you huff in his direction, watching the light surprise that crosses his eye lights. He must notice you've become a tad bit more domestic under Libby's watchful gaze, but before he can do anything about it, you look back at Libby once and murmur a small 'thanks' her way.

Instead of waiting for another reply from either of them, you turn away and speed walk towards your bedroom door. Despite this tame reunion between you and Libby, especially with the rift between your relationship as friends, you still make haste to escape the house quickly.

Your thoughts continue to flicker back to Libby's expression when she first walked in. Other than the confusion that was initially presented, you try to decipher the other emotion that had been hiding in her eyes. You thought you saw...

...

Nah. It can't be... _Jealousy..._ Can it?

But the question is what would she be jealous for? _She_ was avoiding _you._ And besides that, she has Sans and Papyrus on her beck and call anyways. If anything _you_ should be the jealous one!

...Well, that's only if you even cared about monsters to begin with. Which you don't. You don't care about monsters.

A flash of the serene face and silky laugh of the monster queen flashes in the back of your mind, making your footsteps slow as you walk down the street of your home to find your way back to Undyne's.

...

 _Toriel's nice enough,_ you decide uneasily, before speeding up again.

Maybe if you're lucky, you can secretly collect your things and leave before Papyrus and Undyne get back. If they need anything regarding your dumb dreams, they can just call you later, right? Besides- all they have to do is gather up those frogger- _whatever_ monsters until this thing passes tonight or tomorrow night, right?

They can handle things without you. They're the ones with magic anyways... And you sincerely doubt that your dreams fall in the ranks of _fortune-telling_ anyways.

_Yeah... They're just dreams. Nothing more._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAAAYYYY!!!
> 
> It's... FRIDAAAAAY!
> 
> *Explodes into confetti*
> 
> Btw, sorry if there are any small mistakes. It's five am, and I can't feel my legs or face :) It's okay though, I love writing at this time. I was going to upload the usual time at 2 am, but I decided to add more to one of the scenes xD Hope you guys likey!
> 
> And see. You. Next. FRIIDAAAYYYY~!!! <3
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	16. You're Losing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a conversation with Libby about his behavior towards you, while Undyne insists to you that you're getting closer and closer to becoming her BESTIE.

Chapter 16: You're Losing

As the front door closes behind you, Sans finds himself relaxing under the presence of Libby, sitting up and grinning at the blonde you left in your room just as she turns away from your exiting figure to offer Sans a raised eyebrow.

When the skeleton raises his own limbs- most still entangled in your bed sheets, Libby finally cracks a smile and rolls her eyes in amusement, walking up to Sans and kneeling on your bed to begin fiddling around with the sheets to free him. Meanwhile, your kitten is still purring and rubbing against Sans' stomach and back, eager for more attention from the skeleton. Unfortunately for the kitten, Sans himself is the one currently receiving any and all attention.

"So... Sans. What happened that made you and my best friend get all tangled up in her, um... _bed?"_ Libby asks carefully, though Sans grins a little more when he hears that little snippet of slight discontent in her words. It's obvious she's a bit agitated with finding him in your room with you- despite that he was totally about to gaster-blast you to the next week from above when Libby walked in. Somehow, it might have been a good thing Libby got there and interrupted- or else you'd have been a victim of a **gaster-blaster-disaster**...

Heh, not that Sans was all that opposed to the idea.

"Your best friend was getting on my nerves. So I kidnapped her," he simply answers, watching Libby's expression twist in confusion at his vague words. Sans just grins even more. He may not like Libby back, but watching the girl get jealous over finding him paying attention to her best friend is a good boost in his self-esteem. "You're lucky you walked in when you did. She was about to have a pretty bad time."

Libby sighs heavily, surprising Sans when she reaches over and flicks his skull between the eyes lightly. It's not meant to hurt, but Sans still mutters a lazy 'ow' when her fingernail makes contact with him. What's she flicking him for?

"She may be out of line most of the time, and she may have issues- but I'd greatly appreciate it if you _didn't_ try blasting my best friend into itty-bitty pieces. Sure, she's been kind of a bitch lately-" At Sans dubious look, Libby relents and groans loudly, looking up and away from the skeleton. "Alright, she's been _very_ bitchy lately, but I can hardly blame her. She's not very good at handling social situations. I'm sure if we just give her time... She'll give in and see that human and monsters aren't so different from one another. Besides, I'm sure with Papyrus around her, she won't be able to resist the charm and exquisiteness that is your cool brother."

Although Sans appreciates Libby's unwavering belief in Papyrus' skills to pacify people just by being his cool self, he himself finds it a little hard to believe after what the girl claimed you'd said about wanting to dust a monster. However, he understands where she is coming from when she asks for him not to hurt you, and offers the tall blonde a slight smile. He'd try... But _no promises._

He knows how dangerous it is to make a promise when he doesn't have all the pieces of a puzzle.

Sans mind flashes back to the underground, sitting in front of the sealed door to the ruins and speaking to the, at the time, runaway queen of monsters. He can still feel the cool temperature of snow against his bones as he sat by the door to recite jokes to her, cold but not at all effective against his skinless body. He can still feel the pressure that came with her words too, although she'd spoken them in a voice so tired and worn that he almost thought she was close to falling down as she spoke.

It was a memory from a time that felt as if it were just yesterday- one memory among about a hundred of blurry events from the past that all seemed to overlap and weave together into one another. Half of the time, Sans is unsure whether something in the past... Actually happened or not. He knows _why_ some his memories are jumbled around, incorrect, or even at times all but forgotten save for a lingering feeling of dejavu.

Toriel is summoned into consciousness, causing the skeleton to close his eyes for a moment to replay her words in his mind.

_"If a human ever comes through this door..."_

_"...Could you please promise me something?"_

_"Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"_

With an quiet exhale, Sans opens his eyes again and looks up at Libby, who kneels patiently beside him as she pushes her the kitten aside to finish untangling the skeleton from her best friend's bed sheets.

"Alright, kid. I'll try and behave, but if she steps out of line... I'm not sparing her any mercy," Sans warns, causing Libby's eyes to flick up towards his face momentarily before she averts her gaze and nods nervously. Immediately, Sans feels a strange guilt welling up in his chest cavity, causing him to act out of nature and reach over to rub the back of Libby's head to offer some sort of comfort.

Sans is by no means a comforting guy- in fact, he dreads the awkwardness of having to try and help someone feel better- _especially_ when he's the one that causes the emotional turbulence. Somehow, even though Sans _knows_ he holds no special feelings for this human, he still gives her a smile in hopes of cheering her up despite his threat.

It seems like he's always acting a little out of nature around Libby, as if she's got him under some kind of 'play nice' spell whenever he's around her. Whatever causes him to relax around her like he's been tranquilized is of no large importance to the skeleton though. It's the reason why he's never bothered to look into her soul to begin with. Since his brother dragged Libby into their home like a kid bringing home a lost puppy, the girl's been an open book the entire time. There simply just isn't any need for Sans to take a peek- and as the Judge of the underground, he follows his gut to a 'T'.

"...I've known her for a very long time, Sans. Besides, sh-she might have just said that she wanted to dust a monster just to shut me up. Heavens knows I've been bugging her about being nicer to you guys for a while now," Libby explains, her voice cracking slightly when she mentions dusting. She seems a little uncomfortable talking about it...

Though knowing how sweet this human is, Sans knows it's probably just because she dislikes the mention of murder.

"Relax. If she's as nice as you believe her to be... Then I trust your judgment. I'll admit I haven't been very nice since I first met her. We got off on the wrong foot, so to speak. I sort of... Locked her out of Undyne's place in the middle of the night yesterday when she stepped out to call you," Sans winces guiltily at the look Libby gives him when he admits this. She looks so disappointed in him that he reaches up to scratch the back of his skull as he begins to explain for himself.

That's another odd thing he found himself doing- admitting to Libby the things he would normally keep to himself. Like what jobs he had, all the things he had to go through during his day... Or apologizing for playing a pranks on her or his brother. Hey, he'd only played a prank _once_ on Libby, but after she _realized_ he'd done it, he felt like someone had punched all the magic out of his skeletal, organ-less body.

"I mean, at first, it was hilarious watching her run around to find a way back in after I locked nearly all the windows, but then she got all cocky and ran off on her own... I thought she was going to get nearly kidnapped all over again- and I immediately thought of what I'd have to tell you in the end. I wound up following her around until she was convinced by this other human walking around at night to go back home and stuff... And hey, she _did_ find a way back in without my help in the end."

At Sans insistence that he had the whole thing handled, Libby relaxes a smidgen but continues giving Sans an odd look he can't quite place his finger on.

"You call that the wrong _foot?"_ Libby deadpans. "That's practically the _entire wrong limb."_

Sans gives her a helpless shrug, looking rightfully admonished while Libby leers at him for his childish behavior regarding you.

"Well, as long as you haven't done anything else..." Libby trails off mildly disgruntled, though her eyes continue to drill Sans to get more out of him. Much to Sans' own surprise, he can't help the beads of sweat that begin to form atop his skull.

...

"Spit it out, skull boy," Libby soon chastises him suspiciously, causing Sans eye lights to flick around before settling on an interesting thread sticking out from the hem of the sheets below him.

"I might have maybe called her a few names... Threatened her... Made her uncomfortable... Just little things like that," Sans adds with a bashful expression forming across his skeletal features when Libby's eyes narrow on him.

"'Threatened'...? Really, Sans?" Libby complains, before running a hand through her hair with an eye roll. "I mean, pranking her is one thing, but _threatening?"_

Sans blushes, wholesomely shamefaced under the girl's presence. This human really knows how to amp up the guilt, eh...? Not even Toriel's scoldings can surmount Sans' ability to regret any actions he may take. Why's Libby so easy to open up to, anyways?

"I'll tone it down, don't worry. I figured I was starting to go a little overboard anyways," Sans insists, watching as Libby shoots him one last look.

"You'd better. Or else I'm not giving up the five ketchup bottles I got on sale for you this afternoon..." Libby threatens with a dark look in her eye, though the mention of Sans' favorite condiment causes Sans to perk up and look at her in awe.

"Ketchup?" He repeats hopefully, eye lights narrowing on Libby this time.

She nods slowly, and points towards your bedroom doorway, where your kitten is now curled right in the middle of the path with its eyes closed contently. "They're all in the fridge, **bonehead.** Knock yourself out," she says, a smile threatening to soil the glare of discontent she is still trying to keep up.

Sans jumps to his feet and is soon out of your room like a whirlwind, dodging the kitten when it is startled out of its nap into scurrying after Sans- thinking another meal is on its way for them.

As soon as Libby is left in your room, she drops her smile for a moment and brings a hand up to bite at her nails. She considers herself lucky Sans is so trustworthy of her... If he knew she made up that thing about you wanting to dust a monster...

Libby shivers slightly, but takes a deep breath as she stands to start organizing your bed again. Her attention focuses on the trash tornado at the corner of your room, no doubt one of the first pranks Sans made on you. The funniest thing to Libby is that she totally gave Sans permission to pull that one on you, but on a more woeful note, that permission Libby gave him is probably where he got the idea that pestering you would be 'okay' as a result.

Despite everything, Libby is positive that she hadn't meant to do any real harm. She simply made a lie that's just so happened to have spun a little out of control now that she's aware you and Sans have _actually_ met... She definitely never expected that you'd meet him face-to-face.

Why did she lie? Of course, she was only making a minor fib to make herself look just a little better... Which she tends to do a little too often. She'd lied to her friends about you when you were younger- in junior high, high school... Anything to get the most attention. It worked while the two of you were in elementary school, especially since you were rather quiet by nature to begin with. Libby still remembers the innocent expression on your face whenever someone tried to speak to you while you yourself were still learning English, the way you would casually turn to her and tug gently on her shirt sleeve so that she could explain things to the person trying to communicate with you.

She never understood _why_ you continued to do that after learning fluent English, and why you'd decided to teach yourself ASL promptly after meeting one of the maids of the house that spoke with her hands, but she had no complaints. If you talked less, she had _you_ more to herself- and more of the other people to herself as well.

Unfortunately... A little into Junior High, fibbing seemed to no longer work. People found themselves charmed by your talented dancing, and before Libby knew it, people paid more attention to the then silent dancer, who preferred to sign or give simple nods to others- whether they understood what you were saying or not. You were an enigma to the school- unlike Libby who usually had all her cards displayed and talked high and low about any topic.

It was then that Libby decided to try and _make you_ start using your voice. It was a difficult process, but you eventually gave in after Libby begged her parents to change their demands to let her speak for you all the time. Although you still use only sign from time to time, even to this day, you are now much more likely to skip out on being quiet by using your voice to speed up talk time. Libby used to notice that you tried to get conversation over with quickly when verbally communicating, but whenever you spoke to the deaf maid that her parents hired, you would spend damn near hours just sitting and watching the woman do her work, a shy and innocent smile on your face whenever the woman even looked your way once.

Libby recalls _that_ time had been hell for her. You'd kept hanging around that lady, sometimes braiding her hair and dancing around to nonexistent music while the woman worked on cleaning the rooms of house... Libby really hated that during the time, you'd hang around the lady more than you'd hang out with _her._ The woman's name was Luanne, Lorena, or something like that...

Anyways, she could remember the woman clear as day- even if she didn't look at the picture you had of her on your dresser- a selfie you'd snapped with the lady one day after fishtailing her long wavy brown and gold streaked hair. The woman had a kind face, one so gentle that it almost made it seem like you were related to her by your own gentle features back then. She seemed to have taught you a lot about things- but Libby had no idea of the specifics. You'd never approach Libby about her much, other than the fact that you just enjoyed talking and being in the lady's presence since you _loved_ her companionship.

So Libby dealt with it.

Libby shakes out your sheets first and begins to tuck them around the perimeter beneath your mattress, making the sheets smooth by running her arms along the surface after. Humming a gentle tune that she used to sing you to sleep with after one of the nightmares you'd get as a child, Libby continues to reminisce about yours and her own past. With nimble fingers, she takes the comforter and covers the mattress and sheets with a soft smile, fluffing up your pillows and placing them at the top of your bed. Once this is completed, she steps back... And frowns lightly when she notices something missing.

Confused, Libby slowly spins around the room in confusion, before getting down on her hands and knees to peer under the bed. She smiles warmly when she spots the missing final touch of her handiwork, crawling under to get to the other end near the wall and corner your bed is nestled beside.

At that moment, Sans comes strolling back into the room with a ketchup bottle at hand, looking back mirthfully at the following kitten mewling what he can only imagine are profanities after their dream of wet cat chow was so rudely denied. When he turns to face the room and ask what Libby is still doing in there, he's treated with quite the bizarre sight (well, at least for him).

Sans, again, has never found anything remotely attractive about humans. They look kind of funny, prancing around with their squishy bodies of tissue, muscle, and fat... But he won't deny that he finds contact with skin interesting. Skin is just so strange... And while many monsters may have bodies of a similar soft consistency, Sans is only ever usually hugged by _one_ soft monster- Tori. She has a rather tissue-like exterior that he's noticed once in a while when she will force a hug on him out of sheer delight.

So... When Sans walks into the room to find his platonic, human companion with her ass in the air and her upper torso half under the bed as she crawled further to grab something, Sans is unable to stop his eye lights from flicking down to the skin of her thighs just beneath her denim shorts. Unfortunately for the girl with a crush on him, Sans thoughts drift to you and your previous situation with him instead.

After having forced your legs down with his hands to keep you from kicking him to kingdom come, Sans came to the realization that those squishy areas of your upper leg were of a more tender part of your body, merely by the simple expression you'd made upon Sans' touch. Sans, unaware of exactly _how_ sensitive thighs are (or more importantly, that it's an erogenous zone for humans), just blames your tantrum on you being a drama queen as a result. He can still recall the hilarious look of abject horror on your face when he pinned your legs down, and he inadvertently chuckles slightly at the memory, looking away at the kitten behind him before Libby can peek back and think he's making fun of her.

"So, cat, the food was a **no chow** , huh? Bummer... Too bad you **can** 't eat grub regularly like we **can.** It's ok though, next time we **meat** , I'll bring you a little **carne-more** ," Sans chuckles down to the cat, just as Libby finally pulls out from under your bed with a stuffed plush at hand and a puzzled look aimed at Sans.

"'Carne-more'...?" She questions, not getting it.

"Carne: Spanish for meat. More: As in a greater amount; many, much-" Sans starts to go off lazily, until Libby shoves a spare pillow in his face with a laugh.

"Okay, I get it! Don't get sassy with me," Libby huffs, while Sans pulls the pillow lower to stare at Libby with his eye lights. He offers her one of his famous winks and watches her cheeks redden like it usually does when he performs the gesture, his shoulders shaking in amusement despite his actions. It's probably not a good idea to tease her when she's already got such a large crush on him, but Sans just can't help it.

He enjoys the attention, even if he doesn't reciprocate it.

Thankfully, at least Libby isn't _you,_ considering what you wrote in your diary about Sans being smooth and charming. Sans would first fling you off a cliff before he let you put that kind of attention on him. Lucky for Sans though, so far you just downright _hate_ him, and any chance of you being remotely attracted to him, is slim to none- Thank _god._

"What's that?" Sans suddenly asks when his eye lights trail down her other arm, landing on a beaten and worn plush gray animal doll in her grip. The creature it's based on isn't familiar to Sans whatsoever, and he cocks his head slightly to the side after pulling away the pillow against his face.

Libby shoots the plush a look, but returns her gaze up to Sans when she notices his curious expression eyeing the doll in her hand studiously. He's so cute...!

"This? It's (Name)'s. My parents got it for her from the aquarium by the bay a long time ago when we went out on a whale watching trip. Why?" Libby asks, her own curiosity shining through. Why's he interesting in _your_ things?

"Oh. Just wonderin' what animal it's based on," Sans presses, watching Libby's expression relax as she smiles at him. Hm, so she really _is_ the jealous type, eh?

"It's a sea leopard. They like to swim in the waters near the docks and sunbathe on them... (Name)'s always been a girl of the sea, so naturally it was one of the first places we took her to after she officially joined my family," Libby admits with a warm smile, walking over towards your bed to place the plush in the middle of the pillows decoratively.

Sans cocks his head a little to the side, questions forming in his skull. That's right, he had a few questions about you... But how can he ask them without causing Libby jealousy over his interest in you? Sure, he's told Libby more than once how much he dislikes you, but she's still getting jealous over finding you two together despite that the two of you were so clearly _fighting._  In that case, it's probably safe to assume that no matter how many times Sans repeats to Libby how much he dislikes you, she won't believe him entirely. _Especially_ if he starts asking her questions about you.

"What do you mean by 'girl of the sea'?" Sans decides to chance things- since Libby is the one that brought you up this time after all he asked was what animal your doll is based on.

Libby smiles, easing Sans' tension as he waits for her to answer. Damn it, what a sweet heart... _Maybe_ if she wasn't a human, he'd have given Libby a chance romantically. However, she's a human on the inside and the outside. No matter how nice she is... Sans just can't shake that off. As you'd put it when giving the thought of dating Sans, Sans _himself_ wouldn't date a human if he were at gunpoint.

Why?

...

"Oh, well, (Name)'s always loved the ocean. She tends to swim out to the rocky Coral Cove a few miles out past the shore in the morning time whenever she gets stressed out. It's a place she likes to be at when she's overwhelmed and needs some time alone. I don't mind that she gets her alone time there, but... W-well, the ocean has never really been a safe place and I always get worried when she heads on out. I'm terrified she'll get attacked by something someday," Libby admits, looking down at her hands as she plays with her long fingernails.

Sans blinks in surprise, processing the confirmation on your many diary entries of swimming around out there. You haven't mentioned in a _single_ entry (of the entries he's read, at least) that the ocean is dangerous... Yet you swim in it often? And you _like_ it? Hm. Sans isn't sure if you're brave or stupid. Maybe you know how to fend off the predators of the ocean?

"What kinds of creatures are in the ocean?" Sans decides to switch topics, making sure he can inch out more details of you later on once he's done asking some questions that _don't_ regard you. That way, Libby is left none the wiser...

Libby makes a dark grin, causing Sans to shiver slightly despite that he knows she's a nice human.

"Things straight out of your nightmares, _OOOooooOOOooOo!"_ Libby says in a mocking, scary voice that eventually causes Sans to snort in amusement and laugh. Before he can ask for her to elaborate, Libby grabs hold of his hand and pulls him towards the exit of your room.

She's tired of your presence around her and Sans.

"Come on, let's go get some grub at Grillby's!" She chirps brightly, turning back to smile at Sans in a way that placates his shock at the sudden contact with the skin of her hand.

After a moment, he tightens his bony hand around hers and rubs his thumb curiously along the base of her thumb in thought. Skin... Is kind of nice. Weird, but nice...

"...Alright, Libbs. Lead the way," Sans sighs after a moment, smiling back at her lazily. All the while, he continues to run his thumb along her hand, taking in every thin detail like the feel of her cracked skin and the few tiny hairs above her knuckles. Unbeknownst to the skeleton, Libby's heart soars, and she takes his touch to mean differently.

She doesn't reciprocate yet though, nor does she show her enthusiasm if only to keep from scaring the skeleton with her glee, happy to allow Sans to give _her_ the attention this time.

...

Eventually, Libby believes, Sans will make a move.

Eventually, Sans believes, he will have to let Libby down easy.

Sans is just about to ask Libby something about her skin when the cheap cell phone in his pocket begins to ring the familiar tune of his soul song- a song he so affectionately calls _Megalovania._

"Hold on..." Sans speaks up to Libby, pulling his hand out of hers carefully- unaware of the pout that appears on Libby's face when he fishes his phone out of his pocket and answers with a lazy, "'Ello?"

* * *

 

You settle on the couch in Undyne's living room with a foul expression of disdain after an attempted escape, your hands sliding down your face while Papyrus plops down beside you with a wide, upbeat grin. He doesn't seem to be all that concerned about your current annoyance, and you suspect he's becoming numb to your attitude as of now- which is _not_ a good thing if you want to convince them of your dislike for monsters.

Much to your misfortune, after you reached Undyne's place and grabbed your things, said fish bitch ended up kicking open the door into the house as you were making haste to run out. Luckily, the door missed slamming into your face, but unfortunately for you, you ran straight into Undyne's waiting arms instead.

At that point in time, you wished you'd ran into the door instead, considering you could have probably still run away afterwards.

Undyne had laughed haughtily at you for a while, and before you knew it, your things were picked up, tossed back where they were supposed to be, and Undyne had dumped you in your previous spot once more.

Which brings you to the present- where you are all sitting on the couch staring at the mess of glass and water in the kitchen.

...

"So, Tori, totally liked you," Undyne snickers after a moment of the three of you staring idly into space, turning to face you from your left as she tosses an arm over your shoulder. You definitely shiver in aggravation at the contact, but other than a snarky grin, Undyne says nothing about itl. "Frisk still wants to go on a date with you too. The kid even stole your number out of my phone and everything so that they'd be able to message you once they have a day away from business with the King and Queen."

You look over at Undyne and raise a single eyebrow. How does a _seven or eight year old_ have a job as an ambassador again...? Hardly seems like something a kid their age should be dealing with.

"Yes, yes! But you must have a date with me first- and since I was _clearly_ the closest to taking Sans down, I request you to be ready tomorrow night! I have scourged the internet for good date ideas with Alphys and we constructed the _perfect_ course of action!" Papyrus boasts, giving Undyne a 'tut-tut' as he swats her arm off of your shoulders so he can place his own there instead. Undyne relents, if only to smirk cattishly at you as a result. You give her a dirty look, resisting the urge to put your best finger up in regard to whatever thoughts are flitting around in her krill-sized brain. "So, Miss Human... Dress semi-formal, and wear some shoes you can slip out of easily."

Glancing back up at Papyrus, your eyebrow raises in curiosity. Shoes you can slip out of easily?

"Where are we going...?" You ask, making Papyrus wink at you in such a way that you kind of stiffen up in surprise. What's with skeletons and them winking at you...? Well, at least this one is intended to be flirty, unlike Sans' sarcastic winks he gives you whenever he's heckling you.

...Actually, you think you prefer Sans' winks. You don't want _anyone_ winking at you in a flirty way.

...

...Well, unless it's _Alan_ , who's doing the winking... Hee hee.

"HAH! You're turning _red,_ girlie! Ooo, (NAME) and PAPYRUS sittin' in a tree! F-U-C-Khh- _HHMM-PHII-HHH-HHHU!"_ Undyne sings, not letting the hand you've slapped over her toothy mouth stop her from continuing the tune.

"Undyne! I agree with Miss Human, that is _vulgar_ and I will not stand for you making such filthy insinuations!" Papyrus complains wide eyed, jumping to his feet and removing his arm from your shoulders as his own face flushes a bright orange glow of embarrassment.

Undyne stops singing to shrug with a twinkle of dirty amusement in her single eye, letting it drag to your face so that she can chuckle at your predicament again.

 _Well, at least I can get over with the date right away then,_ you think, removing your hand and facing Papyrus with a firm nod that immediately causes Undyne's laughter to cease as disbelief coats her scaly features. She definitely _wasn't_ expecting your affirmation, and from the way her jaw suddenly hangs open askew, if she _was_ expecting it, she at least wasn't anticipating it _this soon._

"Okay, Paps," you mentally wince at the slip up of using his nickname- but play it cool so Undyne doesn't realize you didn't mean to say it. She'll just end up heckling you more if she notices. "I'll be ready tomorrow. What time can I expect you to pick me up? I have to spend some time at the school after my biology class and that extra lesson I'm giving you and BP for CIS. I'll probably get back around six or something."

Papyrus nods in understanding and touches his chin in contemplation, tapping the front of his boot against the carpet in thought. Undyne studies the two of you quietly as well, lost in her own thoughts as you feel her single eye penetrating your being. She _could_ try to be a little more stealthy, couldn't she?

"Wonderful!" Papyrus chirps in delight, jumping up and down before snatching your smart phone out of your things by the sofa and crouching as he opens your messaging app with an expression of extreme concentration. "I must call Sans to tell him the good news...!"

Undyne pulls you down to take your seat next to her again, the fish woman eyeing you carefully with renewed interest after your confirmation of tomorrow's date. At her stare you just nod confidently again to let her know how sure you are about going on the date tomorrow, watching as her single eye glares right back in reply. You know she's urging you to make things good- she must suspect that you're going to purposefully ruin everything to try and get Papyrus off your back.

...Which you are.

But you can't tell _her_ that, so you just plaster a dry look on your face to answer her accusations.

Undyne wrinkles the skin above her lips in a snarl, her threat growing as she notices you haven't assured her you aren't going to do anything stupid.

With an eye roll, you nod and sigh, relenting to her pressure. You're not one to break a promise, even if it so happens to be with a _monster,_ so you decide that if you can't _make_ the date go wrong... You just won't act to _fix_ anything that happens to go wrong. After all, it's Papyrus you're going on a date with. He's probably not familiar with the rules of dating if he had to go and get advice from Alphys (and probably Undyne herself) to plan the "perfect" date. He'll likely mess up and ruin everything _himself,_ right?

Undyne nods in satisfaction and rubs the top of your head, messing up your hair much to your disdain. She kind of reminds you a little of a torturous older sister... And as soon as the thought pops up in your mind, your face flushes an indescribable red and you swat her webbed hand off of your head quickly to get on your feet, putting some needed space between the two of you while she gapes at your reaction momentarily. She seems confused, but when you peek a look back at her and she sees your furiously red cheeks, she snickers in dark amusement.

You can tell what she's thinking by just the look on her face, the sound of Papyrus talking on the phone with his brother background noise to the two of you.

 _'I'm winning,'_ her expression gloats, the smug toothy grin she's flashing at you making your eyes narrow sharply.

 _'No, you're not,'_ your daggered gaze snaps right back, twisting in frustration when Undyne's grin widens, revealing _all_ her sharp teeth.

 _'Yes we are. You're going to lose, and we're going to be BESTIES,'_ her gold eye doesn't waver from its stare on you, never dragging away much to your discomfort. You're resisting the urge to back down from the meek side you've grown up to have in your young past, forcing yourself to keep from looking away. The second you do, Undyne will call it her win. You don't want to give her even that _little_ satisfaction.

 _'What the hell makes you think that?'_ you snarl crudely with your glower, eyes blazing in rage at what her expression spells out.

Undyne laughs, snapping you out of your threatening gaze. For a second, you almost glance away in your sudden befuddlement, but catch yourself before you can shoot Papyrus a questioning look. When the fish bitch opens her mouth again, it's during a pause in Papyrus' and Sans' conversation on the phone- as if she's making sure that the both of them hear what she says to you.

"Well, for starters, we wouldn't be able to have a conversation using only our _soul_ _force_ if we weren't getting close. You know?"

The silence that follows her words permeates even Sans' and Papyrus' conversation, as you hear the rattle of Papyrus bones when he turns to gawk obviously at you from the corner of your eye.

"...What?" You ask out loud, not even sure if that's a worthy answer to her statement.

"Yeah. What did you think those words you were answering were? Just expressions on my face?! HAH! I'm shocked you even _knew_ how to speak back to me that way!" Undyne boisterously laughs, watching as your expression plummets with pure disgrace.

You spoke back to her using your _soul?_ How is that even possible?!

You make another dirty look at Undyne, _'There's no way...'_

Undyne simpers in your direction, holding her chin up rather egotistically. _'Is too.'_

Rather than reply in _any way_ , you finally tear your gaze away from her to set something _else_ on fire with your hateful glare. She's _lying._ She has to be. That's just preposterous... Talking with one's soul...

"D-did you hear that, Sans?! Miss Human is connecting with Undyne! Isn't that incredible?! _...NO?!_ Sans, have some faith! ...AND DON'T FORGET TO PICK UP **YOUR SOCK** FROM OUR **LIVING ROOM FLOOR!"** Papyrus shouts over the line, before listening, nodding to whatever Sans says, and hanging up. Once he has finished the call, he turns to face you and Undyne with forlorn looks of resignation. "I'm sorry, Undyne, but it appears I won't be able to stay for movie night! Sans and Pretty Human reminded me that I promised I would join them tonight to hang out and watch Mettaton films! I'm afraid it's just going to be you, Miss Human, and Alphys!"

Undyne lets out an exaggerated sigh of resignation and throws herself back against the couch, arms dangling behind the backrest rather dramatically. "Shit. Thaaaat's kind of a problem..." Undyne admits, prompting the two of you to glance in her direction. When she falls silent, you prepare to ask her _why_ , but she eventually sits back up to meet your gaze. Seems like you've done that _soul force_ or whatever-voodoo shit again, as Undyne answers you specifically. "I called Asgore on the way back while Papyrus was playing around with Frisk over your hand in 'dateage'..."

You raise an eyebrow at her, while Papyrus quietly adds in his own input by saying, "We were not playing, Miss Human's hand in dateage is a very serious topic."

Undyne shakes off Papyrus words to continue answering you. "Basically, I told him about your dream and the Froggits, so he asked me to flock some into his place and some into Toriel's place for a few days until the coast is clear. It's going to be tedious finding the most of them, but I told Asgore I'd get it done... Whether you're right about this or not though, Asgore says he still wants to meet you."

Your heart jerks in discomfort, and Undyne straightens up immediately to nail you with a firm look. "Hey, relax, punk. I'll be with you the whole time, alright? I'll even have Tori tag along to help put in a good word for you. Just trust me," she says, watching as your expression flashes with several different emotions.

_Trust her?_

...

"...Alright," you eventually answer, watching as Undyne grins at you and then stands up to stretch her arms with a small grunt.

"So basically, since I'm going to be busy with gathering the Froggits with the Canine Unit, it's only going to be you and Alphys, (Name)," Undyne explains, lowering her arms to shoot you a look you immediately translate as, _'Be nice to my girlfriend'._ Surprisingly, this isn't a threat at all, but a mere reminder that makes you nod before you can stop yourself.

_Damn it._

You're less than thrilled, but at _least_ it's Alphys you're going to be with and _not_ one of the others. You'd have hate to be stuck with only Sans, or only Papyrus... Or the worst, only _Undyne._ Especially if what she's saying about this "soul force" thing is true.

"...Oh, but I did invite that punk that tried to block me from getting into the room you were hiding in at the campus the other day!" Undyne claims, causing your eyes to flash in disbelief. 

She invited  _Alan?!_

Papyrus places his gloved hands on his hips, grinning at the two of you with his famous annoying bright smile. "Wonderful! I'm glad we are integrating Sir Human in our group! But, can we finally get started with cleaning the mess Miss Human made in the kitchen? It reminds me of Sans. It's irritating," Papyrus says so cheerfully and brightly that you almost miss that he's compared one of _your_ messes with _Sans._

"Hey!" You complain, watching Papyrus laugh beside you in delight as you turn your annoyed glare on him. You're still reeling at the news that Alan will be joining you, but for the record, you're taking it pretty well...

"Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus laughs as he skirts around you elegantly when you pick up a nearby pillow and attempt to hurl it at his face. His dodging skills are on point, whereas your throwing skills are obviously poor due to your lack of sufficient arm strength. Seems like Undyne agrees with your musings, as she laughs mockingly at your failed attempts to hit Papyrus. Meanwhile, Papyrus also continues to laugh, though he is a safe distance away from your meager throwing range.

"HAH! Wow, (Name), we're going to have to work on getting you fighting fit, aren't we?" Undyne says darkly from behind you, causing a chill to run up your spine. Shit, well you know a threat when you hear one, and this one is likely a promise too. "We can deal with that after your date with Papyrus. After all, you gotta get some guns if you're gonna be hanging out with us _big kids."_

You slowly turn around to see Undyne approaching you from behind, causing you to immediately scramble over towards the kitchen where Papyrus is, hurling yourself in his arms to avoid stepping in glass as well as avoid getting another noogie or attack of any caliber from Undyne. You hiss at her once your arms are hooked around Papyrus and he has your legs in his hold, causing Undyne to roll her single eye as she continues past you without a second glance, grabbing some towels from under the sink. She only turns to toss one at your face as well as Papyrus' face, causing the room to go dark when you don't move to catch yours and it lands over your glaring eyes.

You feel Papyrus moving his head in slight vexation. "Undyne, I can no longer see," he huffs, shifting his hold on you to try and shake the towel off. Eventually, you feel it land on your stomach, but you make no attempt to remove your own from your face, if only that maybe you could attempt a magic trick that will make both the monsters disappear all of a sudden.

"Get to work, Nerds," Undyne orders with a laugh.

 _'No half-assed work, either,'_ you hear Undyne's voice, although you know it's not _actual_ hearing from your ears that it's coming from. Also, they aren't really words as they are your own _interpretations_ of what you're feeling from her. Hearing? You don't know, but you're pretty sure exact messages can't be traded. It's definitely not mind reading or anything like telepathy... You're almost certain you feel it vibrating in your head, but where it comes from, you don't know. It's not exactly coming from the area where Undyne is at the moment, that much you're sure of...

So... _is it_ this "soul force" Undyne is talking about? ...And what exactly  _is_ "soul force"?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo, boy, so I got this done! :P I guess... I'll see you on FRIDAY!! Have a great weekend everyone! 
> 
> Keep your eyes out for details, wear those invisible ballcaps with pride, and see you soon! ;) Soon. Sooon. Soooooooooonnnnnn...
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	17. The Beneficense of Mistrust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans demands to see your soul, which, as you may guess, doesn't go too well.

Chapter 17: The Beneficence of Mistrust

 

... ... ...

It's quiet.

... A little _too_ quiet.

You peer over the counter slowly with a leer towards the living room, Undyne's one eyed helmet placed over your head as your only source of protection as you stare out of the single opening to see where everything is in the vicinity. You turn in every direction before tiptoeing out from behind the counter in your black-pink polka dot pajama tank and black fuzzy pants, moving around carefully like danger is around every corner.

In your hand is a giant sword, one so heavy that it trembles in your grip as you hold it with two hands to steady it's weight. It's the same sword you'd spotted stuck by the attic of Undyne's and Alphys' house when you got locked outside, and much to your satisfaction, you got the story behind it as well.

Undyne was playing around after coming back from an Anime Expo with Alphys, pretending to be one of the humans from an anime called _Kill La Kill._ The gist of things was that Undyne swung a little to ravenously towards an invisible foe to "protect" Alphys, and lost her balance on a fallen strap from her matching sailor _Senketsu_ cosplay outfit. In the end, it resulted in her flinging her sword all the way up to the attic wall. She's not lazy in the least bit, but claimed she left it there for the time being since it looked so cool and made their home seem threatening to any humans with bad intentions.

Well, now you know why the people outside of the house were walking so quickly _specifically_ past Undyne's home while you were doing your homework with her and Papyrus... Even though you got none of your own work done since their presence was utterly suffocating.

Thankfully, after the two left to tend to their duties, you got your work done in peace and silence.

Now, you were just waiting for Alphys and (apparently) Alan to get there, passing time by having your own imaginary session of fighting the phantom soldiers of the King of Evil from the _Legend of Zelda_ \- the Great Beast, Ganon. Undyne had suggested a little pretend game for glory while you waited, but you'd shrugged off her words and called it "childish" at the time.

You're actually kind of glad Undyne isn't here to watch you eat your words and commence in the so-called "make-believe game". You have to admit, it's actually really fun~.

_...Oh no!_

_Where did they suddenly come from?!_

_You're abruptly surrounded by phantom soldiers, but with a slice of your Master Sword, you push back your enemies with ease. You flick back your long black waves and peer through the hole of your armor,_ daring _the enemy to fight back against your relentless power. Opting the chance to **SPARE** them, you lower your sword in an attempt to show them your divine **MERCY...**_

_...But it's for naught! Alas, you are quickly prompted to raise your sword yet again, blocking what would have been a fatal strike aimed at the delicate arteries at the base of your neck. The helmet offered by your... Er... Village idiot! Yeah, your village idiot, Undyne, is sufficient enough, but only protects so much of your body as you defend against the phantom soldiers yet again._

_You wait for an opening..._

_It's too much of a gamble in your current situation! They're everywhere, and your partner hero, Alan the Amazing, is nowhere in sight! You are on your own this time- but it's the perfect opportunity to show you can defend and protect the people of Hyrule! Princess Zelda would be pleased by your efforts to rescue the lost souls trapped within each phantom soldier._

_...Oh!_

_You think you see...!_

_A-HAH! There it is! Your opening!_

_With a mighty swing, you shove the phantom soldiers back again, this time holding up your sword and hand. It's risky putting yourself out like this, but... You must take the chance. You can **SAVE** them... All you've got to do is believe in them. They can do a little better! You just know it! You-_

"Uhh..."

You snap out of your imaginary world and find yourself sharply reeled back into reality, the hooks of dread sinking deep into your nerves at the sound of a familiar voice in the living room. You didn't hear the front door opening _at all_ , much less the familiar **pop** of teleportation magic, and you're currently standing on a couch with one foot on the seat and the other on the higher armrest, sword held out majestically before you as you halt dead in your tracks to register who's the speaker.

The voice is deep, and if that's not enough of an insinuation to guess who the _fuck_ it is that has walked in on you in the middle of your pacifistic quest to rescue the people of the Hyrule Kingdom... Then you don't know what is.

...Stop. Focus on the situation, (Name).

You drop the sword once it's weight wins over your puny power, letting it hit the floor with a loud thump as you turn your head to see who it is. Now, your vision in the helmet has been sub-par since you're used to using _both_ eyes, so when you turn in the direction you hear the voice, your left eye is completely blind to the figure who's spoken, causing you to grab the helmet to rip it off despite your slowly overheating face.

...!

...Oh no.

No no _no no **no No No NO NO!**_

"Heh, pal, you look like you're a little... **Hell met**."

In your struggle to wrestle the helmet off, your face gets warmer and warmer inside of the damned thing midst your effort and embarrassment of being caught playing around like that, causing your balance to begin getting wonky. Your head tilts to the left, your body and legs following it to the other end of the sofa, until you catch yourself... And begin swaying towards the right again, promptly tripping right over the armrest and causing a sharp inhale from the monster in the room.

Before you register what's going on, you find yourself resting on the floor, waving a hand wildly at the single hole where you can see Sans face just _barely_ as you attempt to get some damn air into the now irremovable helmet. You don't know _how_ you didn't crash into the floor, but assume it's probably got to have been Sans' generous doing- although you're not sure _why_ he'd waste the effort on you. Well, shit, you really _are_ hell met...

"Sheesh, you **gaunt-let** all the heat get to you, Miss Human," Sans puns, causing you to groan loudly at the added incentive to your misery. Way to pour salt into the wound... Though you'd expected no less from this asstard. "I **sword** to Libbs that I'd be a little less med **-ieval** , so hold on a sec..."

You're mildly shocked when you feel his skeletal hands gently clank against the helmet, pulling gently around the circumference of your neck and chin... Until the helmet pops off painlessly, revealing your slightly sweaty and extremely red face as you take in a deep breath of delicious, cool air.

...Wait. Why did Sans help you? ...Why is he even here?!

You jump to your feet and step back from Sans, narrowly avoiding stepping on the giant sword you were swinging around when he popped in as you nail the smugly grinning skeleton with a suspicious glare despite your wobbling legs due to your previous dizzy spell.

"It's okay, Miss Human. I'm not gonna mess with you... _This_ time. I'm exacting some _mercy_ after..." Sans pauses to snort a little in amusement as your deadpanning face gets redder in embarrassment, completely undermining your efforts to keep any emotion off your face. "Well, after that ridiculousness this **knight.** "

You can't help the face palm that follows his pun, turning away and sitting on the couch you once fell off to cover your ruby red face. Hopefully, Sans gets whatever he came here for quickly so that he can leave... Hopefully, the sofa swallows you whole and steals your soul if he doesn't leave fast enough.

"...Yeah, I'm still here."

You groan at his words, pressing your face harder against your arms.

"Actually, I came here to check up on you."

You're just about to groan again- until you replay his words in your head and lift your head to look at him in disbelief. He came here _check_ on you? _Sans?_ ...Why would _Sans_ give a single damn?!

Sans seems to understand your expression because he rolls his eye lights and gives you a dry look as his grin eases up in exasperation. "Don't get the wrong idea, I don't like you and I don't care what happens to you... But Libbs does. She asked me to make sure you were doing okay, so that's all I'm doing. Got it?"

You decidedly turn away from him quietly to pick up the heavy sword, having to use both arms as you hoist it up over your shoulder and start walking towards the hall to return it to the guest bedroom. You don't wait for another reply from Sans, nor do you expect him to say anything... But much to your surprise, he speaks up again.

"You know, it wouldn't **kill** you to say thanks, would it?" Sans speaks up snippily from his spot in the middle of the living room, causing you to stop in your tracks. Why did he... Stress the word _'kill'_ like that? Is he implying...?

You turn around, and much to your immediate and concealed shock, the look on your face visibly surprises Sans. Your eyebrows are tilted down at the opposite ends, giving you a fragile and concerned visage as you hug the giant sword protectively against your body- like it's going to protect you from him or something. You can only hope your next words catch him off guard, and he elects to grant you _some_ kind of extra mercy.

"Are you a murderer?"

The blunt question that flies past your lips, although undoubtedly filed down with worry as you stare back at him seems to nearly cause Sans to fall speechless. You're scared beyond belief; Sans has been threatening you left and right since you first exchanged words over text. While all his irritating jokes and pranks have been mostly harmless to this point, you're afraid things will eventually escalate. Will the whoopee cushion in the hand trick soon turn to an electric zap-trap? Or will he try something more nefarious to get his laughs?

"Huh? Wha- **_no!_** I'm not a murderer," Sans snaps, his glare hardening as you squirm uneasily under his gaze. Your fingers twitch repeatedly against the sword in your arms, hands desperate to speak for you instead of allowing your voice all the power. You'd put the sword down to do so if you could, but it's your only source of comfort in Sans presence at the moment. You're sure that if you let go... Your bravery and wit will vanish with it. After all, Undyne and Alphys are once again not here to protect you with their presence.

"Why do you keep threatening me all the time then?"

Sans narrows his eyes.

"Why? **You're** a human. **Humans** murder," Sans stresses, causing you to stare at him for a few minutes... Until your eyes flash in angry understanding.

" _I'm_ not a murderer either, Sans," you reply with a sudden firmness that you summon from the depths of your dignity, causing Sans eye sockets to squint at you suspiciously. You keep the sword balanced over yourself protectively, making sure he can't do anything... Even though you're pretty sure it won't protect you from his gravity magic. Besides, what if he has more tricks hidden under his sleeves? Knowing the skeleton, that's probably the case.

 _I'm flipping doomed, aren't I? Well, what did he expect me to do after he stressed_ kill _like that?! Of course I was going to ask questions!_

"Come here."

You're snapped out of your thoughts to see Sans holding one of his skeletal hands out to you, gesturing for you to come closer. Already on your toes after his question and statement regarding humans all being murderers... You don't move an inch. At this, Sans' eye lights vanish and his expression becomes saturated with warning.

 **"C o m e    h e r e ,    I    s a i d ,"** Sans repeats, this time his voice taking on an even more threatening tone than you've ever heard prior. Just like that, your stress skyrockets to an all-time high.

You hesitate as your chest clenches and unclenches in a furious pattern reminiscent of your panic, unintentionally dropping the sword in your arms. Startled when it hits the ground with a thump, you reflexively flinch and decidedly take the jump in case Sans is lying about not being a murderer. Better to stay on his good side in that case- right?

Your hand reaches out towards his cautiously despite your reluctance, and you jerk in panic when he roughly takes hold of it as soon as it's in grabbing range. He immediately tugs you closer so that you're standing only a foot before him, his empty sockets dragging down to your thorax after his eye lights return. You can already tell it's not your chest he's looking at... And it's all the more unnerving.

"So, Miss Human... You want me to believe you? Let me see your **soul.** _Right now,"_ Sans demands, sharply turning his eye lights up so that he's glaring straight at you. The unease already present on your face does nothing to deter or lower his guard as you fidget in place.

 _He wants me to what...?_ You think in confusion.

Your eyes bounce around the room midst your puzzled state, thinking deeply about his words. No, not about _doing_ it, you're fine with showing your soul if he's _that_ worried you're a goddamn murderer, but... _How_ do you go about showing it to him, is the problem.

...Although now that you're really thinking about it, what if this is _actually_ a big deal? Aren't souls supposed to be the most vulnerable part of humans and monsters...? Essentially, is that like willingly placing your neck in the jaws of a lion?

And are you willing to prove your innocence by taking such a drastic risk?

"...H-how?" You stammer meekly in the end, though your confirmation seems to be the only answer Sans needs.

The skeleton monster makes a gesture at your chest, and with a strange jerk at something you vaguely recall feeling the last night while he was poking and prodding at your spine and throat painfully, you wait for your soul to appear in front of you. After all, that's what's supposed to happen, right?

...

...?

"...Where is it?" You ask, beginning to wonder if you're just not able to see your own soul. With a curious expression, you look up and frown as you watch Sans' brow bones come together in frustration. What's wrong? ... _Is_ there something that's supposed to happen?

Sans makes the gesture again, and something within your thorax jerks once more towards the front. Other than a little jerk though, nothing appears before you. He does it another time. A fourth time.

Nothing happens.

"...I take it that's not normal...?" You speak up again, causing Sans to drag his angry gaze back up to your face.

"You're doing something. Stop it," Sans orders, before gesturing a fifth time, only to get the same results as before.

"If I'm doing 'something', then I don't know what it is- In case you didn't get the memo, most humans have never had their freaking _soul_ _pulled out!"_ You answer heatedly, while Sans gestures a sixth time in an vehement attempt to try and pry it out. This time the jerk is painful, and you release a small noise of aggravation at the discomfort. "Okay, that's enough! If it isn't coming out right now, we can try again _later."_

Somewhat satisfied with the fact that you're willing to keep trying until he can figure out how to get it out of you, Sans reluctantly stops his prying to meet your gaze. You inch back from him reflexively, desperate for much needed space.

"Ask Alphys when she gets here. She can probably figure out more about your soul than I can. My soul knowledge is a little rusty, but I'm pretty damn sure your soul isn't supposed to be stuck in there like that. I can _see it_ from here... But I can't pull it out," Sans fills you in on the details, causing your stomach to twist anxiously. He soon gives you a simple shrug once he has finished staring at your thorax, his easygoing smile returning as he relaxes once more. "I'll be back later in the night to see what you've gotten from Alphys, but for now, I'm out."

Before you can get another word out, Sans vanishes from his place, leaving you standing there with your hands pressed against your chest to quell the pain of the last pulling Sans had given your soul. It was unsuccessful, yeah, but it freaking _stung!_ Like when putting hand sanitizer or lemon juice on an open cut.

 _Jeez, I thought he was going to dunk on me then and there...!_ You think as you walk over to the couch, taking a seat as you allow the trembling of your body to take its time to relax once more.

A couple of minutes later and you finally can remove your hands from over your thorax. Maybe twenty minutes later, your shivers have dwindled almost entirely, and you get up every now and then to move your tense muscles. The fact that you didn't vomit after being _so_ sure you were about to get murdered is a miracle, and you cling to hope that Sans is telling the truth when he says he isn't a killer.

You're startled out of your musings when your smart phone goes off on the sofa by your overnight bag, causing you to snatch it up and answer, "Hello?"

 _"Hey, girlie! Is Alphys back yet? I just got a text from Alan- he says he can't make it since he's gotten stuck with being a chauffeur for his sister tonight. You two gonna be okay on your own?"_ Undyne's voice speaks on the line, making you bite your lip. Whew, so Alan can't make it, eh? You honestly don't know if you're relieved that he won't be seeing you in your pajamas, or despondent that his presence won't also be there to watch over you when Sans comes back to finish the job of checking out your soul.

Regardless... You're a little agitated that it's a phone call Undyne has decided to bear the news to you with- which means you _have_ to speak back using your stupid voice. Even if you really don't want to after... _Sans._

"Alphys isn't here yet, but yeah. We'll be fine. If she gets scared, I'll cover her eyes or something. I can't assure you one hundred percent coverage though- I've never seen this movie and don't know where the scary parts are," you inform Undyne with a tone of resignation, causing the fish bitch to fall silent for a moment.

 _"...Why do you sound like you've just had a bad time with a skeleton?"_ Undyne asks, causing your eyebrows to rise in surprise. She can tell from just the sound of your voice...?

"How'd you know?" You ask in utter shock, causing Undyne to snort crudely on her end of the line.

 _"Because you seem to always sound like you want to set yourself on fire and jump off a bridge after dealing with Sans,"_ Undyne answers so simply that you inadvertently laugh a little.

"You know, he's convinced that because I'm a human, it makes me a murderer? He asked to see my soul, but it wouldn't-" You begin, only for Undyne to suddenly cut you off harshly.

 ** _"Do not let him anywhere near your soul,"_ ** Undyne hisses out so sharply that you're actually startled. "Sans already doesn't like you, if you're going to show him your soul, make sure someone else is around. I don't want him to end up trying to dunk on you if you're alone with him."

You frown in confusion. She's that worried, huh? "A-alright, but he wants to see my soul to confirm I'm not a murderer, right? So wouldn't it put an end to things if he realizes I'm _not_ one?" You question, only to hear Undyne sigh on the line, though you can hear her walking around wherever she is.

 _"Yeah, probably if it wasn't Sans, that would be the case. Papyrus has mentioned that Sans has been a little paranoid lately though, and I don't want to risk it. If he so much as suspects you could_ turn _into a murderer- BAM! Bone dagger in the culmination of your very being. Trust me, just make sure you never let him take out your soul without another person around again, okay?"_

You nod, until you face palm when your dumb ass realizes she can't see you on the phone. "Alright, Undyne, it won't happen. It's alright though, for some reason he was having trouble extracting my soul from me... He said to talk to Alphys about it and that he'd come back to check up on me later. He tried a few times earlier and it wouldn't budge."

 _"Huh. Well I sure as fuck don't know. Yeah, I'd ask Alphys. If she gives you an answer and Sans comes back, make sure Alphys is still around to watch that Sans doesn't do anything stupid he'll regret,"_ Undyne says, making you nod yet again- and curse promptly after. At your curse, Undyne snickers, _"You're nodding like an idiot, aren't you? HAH! Papyrus does that sometimes. Gah, you're both nerdy DORKS!"_

You roll your eyes. "Good- ** _bye,_** Undyne!" You bark quickly, hanging up on her wild laughter and extending yourself over the sofa where Sans placed Undyne's helmet from before. With a dirty look in the direction of the headwear, you pick it up and put it on the ground next to the foot of the sofa. With it, you toss your phone in your bag, and prepare yourself to wait for Alphys.

...

Now what? ...Well, you could always take a little nap while you wait. However, you might see Static again...

...

Fine. Whatever. Take the plunge.

Before you close your eyes and get comfortable, you check your phone for the time (5:25), curling up on the sofa and rolling onto your side. You even out your breathing and focus on certain parts of your body to relax yourself, until you begin to gently drift off...

***************************************

...

"(Name)? I-I'm back... It's _me."_

**(NAME), (NAME), (NAME), (NAME),[REDACTED][REDACTED][REDACTED].**

**REMEMBER THE TIME AND THE PLACE. REMEMBER THE [REDACTED] OF THE [REDACTED].**

**DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES. IT'S LYING.**

**TRUST ME.**

**DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES. IT'S [REDACTED].**

**WAIT.**

**BE [REDACTED] AND DON'T OPEN YOUR [REDACTED].**

**...**

"(Name)? I-I'm back... It's _me."_

**DON'T [REDACTED] YOUR EYES.**

**...**

*********************************

**...?**

You open your eyes.

_What was...?_

With blurry vision, you sit up and take a look around. There's no one there but you. You're all by yourself... Where's Alphys though? What time is it?

You grab your phone to check the time... And blanch in disbelief. It's only 5:30. You'd closed your eyes for literally _five minutes,_ yet you _still_ had a dream! You heard the voice of Static, just as you'd predicted you'd hear or see, and although a lot easier to understand this time than other times, you couldn't understand the entirety or meaning of their words.

...Wait, there was another voice. It sounded like Alphys, but... But it also _didn't_ sound like Alphys. And it sounded like it was in the house, you heard it clearly enough through your sleep to deduce that much. Who was it? Why did Static so vigorously insist that you keep your eyes shut? What did they mean by "it's lying"? ...Did Static wake you up?

 _Text Alphys. I need to text Alphys now,_ you think in your confusion and panic, grabbing your phone and scurrying as quietly as you can to the front door to step outside, making sure to close the _unlocked-for-sure_ door as you begin dialing Alphys' number. It's not like you'll be disturbing anyone by having the phone call inside the house, but something urges you to call her outside instead. You're not sure why, but you decidedly follow your gut instinct and slip out of the house as a result.

_Riing... Riiing..._

_"H-hello? (Name)?"_ Alphys familiar voice speaks, causing you immense relief when you hear it.

"Hi, Alphys, I just wanted to make sure you're... Um, alright," you say, wincing mid sentence when you realize what you've just admitted. Whatever, you're a racist, you're not _heartless..._

...Though you're sure many would disagree and say the two are the same thing, but whatever.

 _"Oh. I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm already heading out of the lab, actually, so I'll see you in around five minutes. It's not too far a drive,"_ Alphys chirps, seeming cheered up by your words. You relax your nerves and move to open the house door again, only to stop in your tracks when you hear something outside of the phone.

"(Name)? I-I'm back... It's _me."_

Your blood runs cold when you realize it's coming from _inside the house._

You take a few steps back from the door before you turn and book it down the side walk, hopping over the fence of the same picket fenced yard you'd used to hide behind when running from Sans the last night.

 _"(Name), are you okay?"_ You hear Alphys on the line, making you snap out of your fear.

"There's someone in your house that sounds _exactly like you,"_ you blurt out.

 _"W-what?! D-did you get a good look at them? What are they saying?"_ Alphys tone drops from anxious to downright terrified. You're rightfully scared too, but since _she's_ the brainy scientist, you figure telling her everything would be in your best interest.

"It keeps saying the same thing over and over again... It's like a broken record," you explain.

_"What are they saying?"_

You're just about to tell her, until you hesitate when you feel the presence of something next to the picket fence. Your body freezes up where you sit with your knees against your chest and your back pressed against the fence. The side walk is on the right side of you past the fence, where you feel someone standing and staring intently at you unblinkingly.

You don't dare look up.

 _I'm still dreaming... Aren't I?_ You slowly realize.

 _"(Name)? I-I'm back... It's_ me."

**DON'T LOOK AT IT WITHOUT IT'S [REDACTED], CLOSE YOUR EYES.**

You hear the movement before you see it, and you gasp- dropping your phone and allowing your eyes to snap shut with your palms pressed over each eyelid. Is Static showing you another possible vision? But... But this time about _Alphys_ getting taken over? Is that what this dream is?

**DON'T OPEN YOUR EYES.**

You feel something sniffing the top of your head, causing a few strands of your hair to fly back as something exhales heavily. You're absolutely _terrified_ , unsure of what the hell is standing in front of you that you're not supposed to look at. What is it? A monster? A human? Something _else?_

The temptation to look is excruciating, but you hold your hands over your eyes, desperate for an escape.

 _Wake up! Please, wake up! It's not real, it's just a dream! Move a muscle, get up! Roll off the couch! ANYTHING!_ You think, even making the effort to squirm around where you are despite whatever is studying you.

_WAKE UP! **WAKE UP!**_

**DON'T PANIC. IT WON'T FIND YOU IF YOU RELAX. YOU HAVE TO RELAX.**

Static wants you to calm down?! You can't! You're scared! You want _out_ of this dream!

You want-!

********************************

Your face hits the carpet first, startling a strange squeak out of you as you scramble up in a sitting position, swinging your head around in every direction to find out where you are. At the speed you're looking around, you're likely to give yourself whiplash.

You're awake, right? For sure this time? You're not having a third hellish dream in a row after those first two?

You pinch your arm in an attempt to figure things out, but somehow, you're not sure whether it proves anything despite that you feel a small amount of pain. You've felt pain while dreaming before, so... Is pinching a surefire way of determining being awake?

...It's likely that it's not.

You grab your phone a second time, this time dialing up Alphys _immediately_ from where you sit _._ In fact, you don't even give _two_ flying fucks whether the fact that your worried makes you look like a monster lover. That dream was _scary._ Probably even scarier than the dream you had of getting dusted. Although both are alarming in different ways, somehow the torture of not knowing what you're supposed to keep your eyes off of is even scarier.

 _"(Name)? I'm nearly there, is something up?"_ Alphys voice answers, making you blow out a sigh of imminent relief after you hear her awkward voice on the line clear as day.

"Y-yeah! Everything's fine. I just woke up from a nightmare and I wanted to make sure you were okay," you willingly admit this time with only the slightest hesitation, hearing Alphys laugh nervously on the line as a result. Clearly she didn't expect _you,_ a racist, to ever say something like that to her.

 _"O-oh! That's very sweet of you... I'm pulling up to the driveway, I'll be there in a minute~"_ Alphys says, despite that you're already on your feet wobbling your way to open the front door for her in advance. Once you have the front door open, you peer out to see Alphys jumping out of a small Volkswagen Beetle, closing the door behind her and pulling the strap to her laptop over her shoulder as she heads up to the front door. She smiles when she sees you, a smile that is noticeably much brighter than the last smile she'd given you.

Hiding your _elation_ at the sight of the gold monster being alright, you step aside to let her in, locking the door behind her and getting the movie set up in the living room while she goes to hers and Undyne's room. You prepare some popcorn as well in the meantime, bringing a large bowl with the snack to the living room floor in front of the couch before returning to their kitchen to bring some drinks- Alphys' favorite melon soda pop (according to Undyne), and a simple bottled water for yourself.

_Man, you're really laying it on thick aren't you? At this rate, Alphys will be convinced you like monsters._

You pause and shake that thought out of your head, grimacing and taking a seat on the floor as you wait for Alphys to finish her business.

_No, you're just affected by that dream you had and want to... Show appreciation that nothing bad has happened. That's all. You still don't like monsters- end of discussion._

When Alphys returns a few minutes later, she's got on an aquamarine tee and some black yoga shorts joining you on the living room with a large blanket at hand and taking a seat next to you so the two of you are huddled in front of the sofa and TV together.

"I-I hope this one isn't too scary... Especially with Undyne and Papyrus not being here this time," Alphys comments nervously as the movie begins, reaching over to eat some popcorn. When she notices you've even brought her favorite drink, she gives you a warm smile that you only return for a beat of a second.

"After my nightmare, I sure hope it isn't either..." You mutter, clinging to the blanket with one hand and reaching out to take some popcorn with the other. Before you pop some in your mouth though, you recall your earlier incident with Sans and turn to face Alphys. "By the way... Sans was here earlier and we came to an agreement that he could take a look at my soul to check if I was a, um, a murder. I don't know what's his problem, but I'm hoping that if he sees I'm not a threat, he'll stop treating me so rudely."

Alphys looks away from the movie screen to face you with a rather puzzled expression, using the opening credits to converse for the meantime and ease up on the tense atmosphere that watching a scary movie brings. "W-why would he think you're a murderer?" She asks carefully, causing you to sigh and shrug.

"His reasoning was that I'm a human and humans murder," you say, causing Alphys to frown at your words.

"That's strange. He's never been one to overreact to things like that... I wonder what could have caused him to gain that belief. Besides, monsters aren't all that innocent either. I'm pretty sure both our species are equally sinful in regards to things like that," Alphys explains, looking down at the bowl of popcorn by your feet. "Anyways, you said that you came to that agreement? I really hope you didn't let him see your soul, (Name). I-it sounds like he's not really thinking straight right now, if you know what I mean... I'd hate for something to happen if he gets the wrong idea and takes advantage of you letting him close to your soul."

You shake your head, using the remote to pause the movie when the opening credits end and you notice the film is about to start. "I told him he could see it, but he had trouble pulling my soul out. He tried a few times, but it wouldn't budge. He told me to talk to you and see what the issue was," you explain, making Alphys blink in surprise before pulling her arms out to turn and face you.

"A-alright then... Could you face me for a second? I'm going to try what Sans did first to see if I can determine the problem that way," Alphys says, making you push the blanket off to sit facing her. "I'll be gentle, so don't worry. If you feel a stinging pain, let me know and I'll pull a little less-"

Alphys cuts herself off before she finishes her sentence when she makes the same gesture Sans had done before, causing a relaxing and gentle pull at your thorax unlike how it'd felt when Sans tried to. With a small gasp, you _definitely_ feel something exit your body. It feels strange, _intimate,_ like you've just walked outside without any clothing on. Your arms instinctively wrap around your shoulders in an attempt to soothe yourself, eyes dragging down to a soft creamy glow between you and Alphys that seems to have seriously caught the gold monster off guard.

"Oh! I think I see what the issue is... How very strange. I've never met a human with such a responsive soul like this. Normally, the human has to do everything manually and implement their conviction for the soul to react. It's like your soul has a mind of its own on autopilot..." Alphys observes, cupping what appears to be a cream colored heart-shaped light that floats in front of you. Around the heart is a strange red wisp of mist, with a bit of white and gray at the bottom tip of the heart. You have no idea what any of it is supposed to mean, so you settle with listening to Alphys murmur her observations as she gives it a good once-over.

"A mind of its own...?" You ask, but it seems like Alphys is too far in her own world to hear you.

"I've never seen a soul with white or gray as an added shade... The red wisp might possibly be determination, but the overall cream color... I've never seen this kind of soul trait. There's no indication of **LOVE** or **EXP** though, so that much is a relief..." Alphys murmurs to herself, her last sentence loud and clear to your ears. Rather than let her go on leaving you in the dark, you clear your voice to get her attention back on you. When she looks up, her cheeks turn a bright red and she pulls her hands away from your soul abruptly, making another gesture towards it that makes your soul sink back into your body. A shiver travels up your body as you feel it return to its rightful place, but once it's back in its rightful location, you relax again.

 _Thank goodness that's over for the most part,_ you think, before focusing your gaze on Alphys for her verdict on the matter.

"What did you mean by no 'love'? Does that mean I'm not affectionate?" You inquire first out of curiosity once you have the blanket pulled up over you again. You're a little startled by how matter of fact she had said it, and needless to say, such a statement completely unnerves you. You're not loving? That sounds bad. Like you could become a psychopath or something... Would Sans have killed you if he saw you had no "love"?

Alphys lets out a surprised laugh, blushing a little more. "Heavens no! That's... That's not the 'love' I'm talking about. I was looking at your **LOVE-** which is an acronym monsters use to refer to, ehrm... **Level of Violence.** " You jerk and your expression twists in abject horror. They're using the word 'love' as an acronym to describe something like _that?!_ "I-it's one of the things Sans is looking for when he says he wants to check if you're a, um, murderer. When a person kills, they earn **EXP,** which stands for **Execution Points.** It accumulates the more lives a person takes, and if enough is earned, the person's **Level of Violence** is increased, wh-which is a way of determining the murder's capacity to hurt. The more one kills, the easier it is to distance themselves. The more they distance themselves, the less they will hurt. Which in turns makes it easier for them to hurt others."

Alphys stops when she notices your expression, which borders that of being disturbed and sick. "Sans thinks I'm something like _that?"_ You ask, watching as Alphys' face falls with sympathy.

"I-I guess he does... But look on the bright side! Y-you don't _have_ **EXP** or **LOVE**. Which means that Sans is totally wrong!" Alphys claims, before smiling at you and turning to sit properly with her back against the couch again, sitting beside you but facing the TV as she continues. "Also, I've figured out what the issue was with Sans being unable to coax your soul out of your body... Your soul is _a lot_ different from other human souls. It's almost like a monster soul, in a sense, but it's very clearly human in all other regards."

You nod in slight understanding, though you wish you could learn more about it than just the minor surface details. It's pretty cool that Alphys knows so much about souls to be able to gather as much information about it as she has on first sight... You kind of wish you could learn more about them yourself.

 _...Not that I'm about to admit that to her face though,_ you think, quickly shaking such thoughts out of your head to return to the subject matter.

"Basically, you may have given your consent to allow Sans to look at it... But your soul refused," Alphys says, causing you to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Why would your soul do that if you wholeheartedly believe showing Sans your soul will get him to knock off his bad behavior towards you? "I know, it sounds kind of strange, right? W-well, monster souls tend to do things like that too. After all, our bodies pretty much make up our entire being and soul, unlike human bodies that protectively house their souls altogether. Monster souls tend to do involuntary things in regards to the environment- even if the monsters _themselves_ don't wish the same. It's part of what makes humans stronger than monsters."

"Alright. So then... Why is my soul like that?" You query, touching your chest in confusion. "If that's something only a monster soul can do, why does mine do it?"

Alphys laughs nervously. "Unfortunately, I don't know that much. I would have to run specific tests on you and bring you to my lab to get answers of the sort. Not to mention that since I don't know what I'm working with, it might take some time before we ever get solid answers..."

...

"I'm curious," you admit, determination flaring your spirit as questions fly around in your head wildly. You have to know. You're not sure why, but you _have_ to. What if finding out why your soul is weird like that also gives you insight on those dreams you're having? Er, that is to say, _if_ they end up coming true.

"O-oh! Well, we have a program at my lab where humans can sign up to have their souls examined for research purposes. If you'd like to... You could sign up and I can try to find the answers you're looking for. After all, I am a bit curious myself..." Alphys blushes slightly, before shaking the look off and smiling over at you again. "It's a very intimate process though. I can promise you that I'll be the researcher that handles your specific soul, but I must warn you: souls tell _a lot_ about a person... If you are reserved by nature and don't wish for anyone, even me, to accidentally stumble upon any secret emotions or reactions to things like fears, worries, or... _p-pleasures_... Then this might not be in your best interest."

You nod and take in the information, biting your lip gently. So souls _are_ very private in the sense... Vulnerable and compact with everything that makes up an individual. If Alphys handles your soul, she might see some things about you that you've only ever revealed to Libby...

...

Still, you really want to know what it is about your soul that is so different. Even if you have to bare yourself like that to a monster, you're fine with it if there's the smallest chance that you get some answers.

"I'll do it," you answer her firmly, noting the way her expression brightens up in excitement.

"G-great!" She blurts out, before realizing her outburst and reeling her excitement back in as quickly as possible. "Uh, I mean, I-I'll bring you the sign in papers tomorrow then!"

You relax at her awkwardness, turning to hit 'play' on the TV now that the talk about your soul has been settled for the moment. Sans will be stopping by later, so at least the two of you have an answer for him regarding why it won't show up.

...'Cause it didn't want to...? Wait, she said my soul refused, but... _Why_ did it refuse?

You turn to ask Alphys this quickly, and watch as a look of understanding crosses her upbeat features.

"It's likely that your soul refused because you, um, don't feel safe around Sans. He's been kind of mean to you lately, right? Undyne told me you were scared of him... So that's probably the reason why your soul refused to show itself in his presence," Alphys answers with a smile, before turning to face the TV again after explaining. Just as you're about to focus back on the movie though, you notice Alphys suddenly leering ahead and frowning in thought. "Actually... You know, Sans once mentioned that he has the ability to look into monster and human souls through their physical bodies. I'm not sure how he learned to, but in the sense, he doesn't really _need_ to pull your soul out in that case..."

Alphys frowns, sitting in her spot and thinking to herself with the slight twitches of her mouth as she murmurs things to herself under her breath in thought. It isn't until she startles you by shoving the blanket off of herself that she stands up after her eyes go wide, making you look up at her in confusion. The monster looks like she's kind of panicking, swinging around as if searching for something.

_The movie's finally starting, where is she going...?_

You watch with growing unease as she swings around and faces you, reaching down to grab your arm and help you up on your feet. The puzzled expression that coats your features doesn't seem to go unnoticed by her, and she breathlessly answers, "I... I'm not sure if I'm just overreacting or anything.. I don't want to risk anything, so I'm going to ask you to trust me and come with me. Could you do that for me?"

You give her a funny look as your answer, but allow her to grab your jacket from your things and push it in your confused arms, the monster herself grabbing a jacket from a coat hanger by the door. Quickly shoving your feet in your nearby shoes, you turn off the TV and put the remote down on the ground, where the snacks and drinks are left behind.

 _Does this have to do with Sans?_ You wonder, wrinkling your nose as you take one more glance back at the house, following Alphys out to her Volkswagen and hopping in with little to no hesitation. _Sheesh, they're friends with Sans and acting like this towards him?_

"D-don't think too badly of Sans, please... He's been through a lot, from what it seems. I'm sure he's just a little lost right now and needs time to recover. Putting it mildly, life was bleak under the mountain... I'm almost certain that it's what depleted his **hope** so much as a result. He's not a bad monster, I can promise you that. He cares for his friends a lot and... I guess it just causes him to become a little more protective over us when it comes to humans," Alphys explains as she starts up her car, pulling out of the driveway with ease.

In the back of your mind, you can't help but cry with relief at the fact that she drives like a _normal fucking person._

...

_Wait. She said Sans cares for his friends a lot... And that it makes him become protective when humans step in. Does that mean that Sans doesn't have many human friends? Only Frisk, and I guess now, Libby? Is he...?_

You turn to face Alphys, the question on the tip of your tongue.

"Is _Sans...?"_ You ask, watching as Alphys turns her gaze away from the road for a beat of a second to meet your wide eyed gaze with one of her own. Finding this action odd, you press on, completely aghast by the realization. "Is Sans _racist_ _towards humans?!"_

Alphys laughs nervously, mouth moving as if searching for an reasonable reply despite the clarity in her reaction. It's obvious what the answer to your question is, yet she grasps at straws in silence until her expression falls with resignation.

"Yes."

Just like that, your world is flipped over completely onto its other axis, causing your jaw to drop in disbelief. You face forward eventually with a foul glare out the window.

"That _hypocritical bastard..."_ You curse with a snarl, eyes staring outside as the houses on the sides of you begin to turn into buildings as you and Alphys reach downtown.

"I-I'm sorry..." Alphys awkwardly squeaks from the driver's seat, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Don't be. You're not Sans," you answer quicker than you can stop yourself, causing Alphys to peek over at you before refocusing on the road. Looks like she's driving you across town... Are there more houses past this point? You certainly have no idea, but you more or less trust that Alphys isn't planning anything nefarious. Plus, she doesn't quite seem like the type of person to do something bad intentionally.

"W-well, I'm sorry anyways... Again, I hope I'm just overreacting about this. I just want to make sure nothing serious ends up happening," Alphys continues, while your brain proceeds to try and make sense of what's going on.

"Okay, but... What are you scared about?" You ask carefully, facing Alphys as her nervous gaze settles on a road leading out of the downtown area, leading through a canopy of dark trees that seem ten times darker than they probably would have if it were still daytime. The road soon vanishes, turning into a dirt path that immediately makes you question your previous thoughts on Alphys having back alley tendencies.

Where is she taking you...?

"W-w-well, if Sans doesn't need to pull out your soul to see your status... Um, I-I'm kind of scared he's only using it as an excuse to get you to pull your soul out so he can, er, h-hurt you..."

...

Oh.

...

...?!

"That lying _BASTARD!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah! SUPRISE BITCHES. THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME, HUH?!
> 
> ;D 
> 
> Nah, but seriously, I'm making this Friday a double chapter upload!! Finally making up for that *necessary shiver* SATURDAY upload...!
> 
> Enjoy the free chapter~!
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	18. My Human is Better Than Your Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys takes you to an old friend's house and Undyne takes the arguments straight to Sans regarding your soul.

Chapter 18: My Human is Better Than Your Human

 

By the time you and Alphys reach a lone, snug looking house in a large clearing of the woods, the two of you have outright near endured a ten minute car ride of dead silence. However, this isn't _awkward_ silence, oh no... That word doesn't describe the silence that hangs over the two of you, both lost in your own worlds and thoughts.

You are _furious,_ brooding like an animal waiting for something punchable (by your standards) to waltz into your line of sight.

Alphys, on the other hand, looks incredibly nervous. You can see her eyes flicking towards every shadow in the already pitch black forest as she drives, otherwise oblivious of your teeth grinding. Her hands grip on the steering wheel so hard that for a moment you put a pause on your rage to let your eyes dart over towards her in concern...

That is, until you realize you're (again) worrying about a monster over something stupid, and return to stare out the window with your haunting glare of rage.

 _I can't believe him... That_ bonehead! _He's been treating me like shit for being a racist when he's practically the same way? UGH! Hypocrite! And all this time, I thought...!_ Your right hand, clinging to the seat belt strap over your chest, tightens considerably. _He has_ no _right..._

"Whew!"

You jerk in your seat, startled by the sound of Alphys voice as you turn towards her in question. She's not looking at you, instead watching ahead as she pulls up her Volkswagen in an empty space to the right of the strange house in the middle of the woods. "Well, we're here," she finishes, only looking at you once she puts the car in parked.

Beside the Volkswagen is another unfamiliar car, no doubt owned by the person who lives here. It's an unfamiliar white _Dodge Caravan_ , which appears to have been modified on the inside to allow someone of a much larger figure to fit inside and drive it.

You hop out of the car after Alphys does, shutting the car door behind you and immediately making a beeline for the side of the family van. You press your face into your cupped hands to look inside... Yep. Just as you thought. The driver's seat is completely pushed back in the car- so much that you notice the second row of seats have been ripped out to make enough room.

...The passenger's seat is no different by the looks of it. What two behemoths of monsters need to rip out the middle row of seats just to properly ride in this car...? How curious.

"Come on, (Name). I, uh, didn't exactly message him ahead of time to prepare for this, but... Um, l-let's go," Alphys says, reaching out bravely with an anxious expression as she weaves the fingers of one of her hands with yours. Naturally, you're startled by the unexpected contact and turn to look over at your joined hands in mild surprise. When you glance back up at Alphys, she _too_ looks surprised- much to your bewilderment. It's almost as if she just reached out and grabbed your hand out of friendly habit, and is now immediately regretting her decision considering your outlook on monster kind.

The two of you make eye contact for a solid ten seconds... Until you force yourself to relax and make an attempt at clearing your throat to snap the gold monster back into reality. Before she can apologize and yank her hand back, like it appears she wants to, you open your mouth to ask, "So... Lead the way?"

Alphys, seemingly stuck in the embarrassment of her actions, nods stiffly. "O-of course...!"

She turns away but continues to hold your hand, dragging you along beside her towards the front door of the large house. The two of you walk up the front porch, where a gentle tangy lamp hanging over the steps of the entrance glows to life upon yours and Alphys nearing movements. Upon the light spilling over the two of you, other than the light you can see flitting past the closed curtains of the windows from the second story of the house, the front porch is illuminated to reveal a patio table and two chairs overlooking the woods, potted plants of different herbs mounted along the side of the house near one of the windows.

"Whoa," you mumble in awe, gently pulling away from Alphys to look out towards the woods. Decorating the front of the house and part of the clearing, although you didn't notice it at first since you were busy following Alphys and staring at the house alone, is a garden of beautiful golden flowers. Your eyes dart to every water droplet hanging on the many flower petals close enough to be illuminated by the dim glow of the lamp, leaving you hypnotized and largely pacified despite your earlier mood of enragement.

 _...What a pretty garden,_ you think, unaware of the fact that you're saying this out loud once again.

"It is rather lovely, isn't it? That _is_ why I chose to move into this place, after all."

You gasp under your breath, turning around to see Alphys standing nervously beside a tall horned figure with light blonde much like human hair around their head and a gold beard to match. Beneath their hair on either side of their face rests two white floppy ears, and atop their head are two large horns arcing back reminiscent of a goat. While his size and the fact that he's a monster make him appear daunting at first, the initial intimidation of the monster is shattered by the plain purple button up and pants he wears as pajamas. There's even a matching nightcap resting on his head, held in place by the two horns that protrude through the sides of the hat's white fluff, a similar white fluff of a pom-pom at the end of the hat hanging by his face.

As soon as you turn around though, something pangs painfully in your chest, causing you to clutch at the area of your thorax in confusion. Although it sort of hurts, you can't bring yourself to turn away from the monster before you. Much to your surprise, the monster seems to have a similar reaction- though the only give away to that is the way their large paw moves up to touch their chest. They have a thoughtful expression on their face as they cocks their head curiously towards the side, observing you quietly. You do the same, though you're not too sure why...

You can already tell who this must be by just first glance. It's undoubtedly the monster you've been so nervous to meet- _King Asgore Dreemurr_. Strangely enough though, this really isn't how you pictured meeting him. You expected...

...Well, truth be told, you don't know _what_ you expected. Maybe an instant spear or sword through your chest? Whatever, the point is that you didn't expect _this_ to happen- namely the strange sensation of the monster king being so undoubtedly _familiar._ Although it may seem like it, you know it's _not_ that he's familiar because you met Toriel prior. Something else is at play, but you're not sure what that _something_ is. In fact... Maybe Toriel was so familiar because she has a strikingly similar appearance to _Asgore._ Two monsters that have the same attributes- like Sans and Papyrus- only _not_ skeletons...Probably? You're not sure. You can't be. At this point, you only have a few pieces to a puzzle that has yet to be solved.

You're dreaming about a third skeleton-like monster and about things that may or may not be visions of the future, you- although you've been avoiding the thought for quite a while now- survived being submerged underwater while _wounded_ for a ridiculous amount of time, you quite possibly broke a thick glass water dispenser with just the mere volume of your voice...

As much as you wish that it's all a series of coincidences, you can't deny- at least now that you're meeting the familiar face of someone who is so _clearly_ a stranger (hello, they were all stuck under a mountain no more than four months ago?)- that there is something suspicious going on between you and monsters.

As if sensing the strange atmosphere, Alphys looks from you to Asgore and back in confusion, clearly trying to gauge the reactions from the two of you meeting one another. The silence has stretched out a lot longer than anticipated or socially acceptable, but before you can break it by speaking, the monster king beats you to it.

"Hello," he says with a warm smile, stepping aside to allow you and Alphys into his home. "Please, come in. I'll make some tea while we wait for Undyne to report back."

Your soul makes that familiar pulsing sensation from before- as if reacting to something in the environment. It's nothing that feels perilous or threatening, rather it feels inviting and caring.

 _Who_ is _this monster?_ You wonder, blinking up at him while your legs take charge by automatically walking in after Alphys. _I feel like... He's someone I can trust. This is the monster I've been worried about meeting...? He doesn't seem like anyone that would kill someone dead. He looks like somebody's dad. Tch, definitely not anyone like_ Sans... _If Asgore is weary of humans that could possibly have magic like Undyne mentioned, why's he allowing me into his home so easily like this then?_

Inside, the house is a snug and homely place of comfort. Everything is organized reasonably, going into a living room with a recliner by a lit fireplace and a bookshelf lined against the wall. There's a dinner table to the far lower left side of the place, and from what you can see, directly ahead from the table is an area that quite clearly leads to a dark kitchen. The lights are out, in that place, but with the fire place and the lamp from the living room, you can somewhat make out the kitchen tile leading in. To the right is a small hall with two rooms, one probably being a bathroom and the other a bedroom. Directly ahead of the front door is a staircase, leading to a second floor that at the moment doesn't concern you as you turn to face Asgore.

He closes the front door gently behind himself and walks past you and Alphys, giving you another curious glance before gesturing that the two of you follow.

Next thing you know, the three of you are sitting at the dinner table together with three mugs of Golden Flower tea. You've never really drank much tea in the past, especially after an incident with a _less than_ pleasant type of tea that did _not_ sit well with your taste buds. No one has spoken a word yet, which you're somewhat thankful for, and you take the moment to give your tea a little taste test.

... _This is nice._

You take a few more sips, noting the way Asgore and Alphys both watch you quietly with interest.

After a few more curious sips of silence between the three of you, Asgore finally takes initiative to clear his throat... And bring his hands up to start signing.

**'My name is Asgore Dreemurr. And you are...?'**

You follow along easily at first, however, Alphys seems completely baffled for whatever reason. She sits up straighter and blinks in confusion, making you raise an eyebrow in her direction. Why's she acting so weird?

"H-how did you know she could understand sign language, Asgore?" Alphys asks curiously, her eyes jumping from you to Asgore when both your expressions flash with surprise at the gold monster's words.

"Oh. I did not know that actually, I just thought..." Asgore touches his bearded chin in thought, looking up in confusion. "Well, to be completely honest... I'm not quite sure _what_ I thought. It merely felt like something I should be doing."

You yourself sit there baffled at this, because... Hell, it even seemed natural to _you._ Not only did you think it was normal, but you didn't even notice how odd it was until Alphys pointed it out.

...Well, you're not too keen to open your mouth just yet, not when you're already so comfortable with someone willing to have a conversation in only sign. Like hell you're going to open your mouth at this point.

 **'I'm (Name). Do we know each other?'** You risk asking via sign, watching Asgore's eyes follow your movements until you finish. He seems to blink in surprise at your question, and much to your internal delight, brings up his hands again.

 **'I'm not sure,'** he replies, before offering you a small smile of embarrassment. **'You are rather familiar to me though.'**

You nod in agreement with him. Hm... Doesn't seem like you two will be able to figure that weird nagging familiarity that is encompassing the both of you- at least for the moment. Maybe later it'll become clear, but for now, what you _really_ want to know is why Alphys decided to bring you here of all places. The monster king's home? That has to be just a _little_ abnormal, even for someone that works closely alongside the king.

Alphys clears her throat to gather both yours and Asgore's attention.

"U-um, I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, Asgore! It's just that there's a little issue going on with Sans right now and he's kind of painted a target on (Name)'s back for some reason... T-this is the only place I could think of that Sans would never think to check!" Alphys confesses, causing the monster king to sigh and smile at her.

"That's quite alright, Alphys. I do not mind one bit. After all, with Undyne rounding up the Froggits around town..." Asgore trails off, before frowning and returning his gaze back to you in thought. "Excuse me, but... Might you be the same human that Undyne claimed to have had a dream about the death of a Froggit?"

Your hands clamp around the warm mug of tea on the table as you nod to him stiffly, quickly bringing the mug back up to drink away your anxiety. So Undyne hadn't told him your name yet? Well, shit. _Now_ you're going to get a spear or sword lodged in your chest, right?

"I see..." King Asgore states, before looking back down at his mug of tea pensively. "You are a kind human to willingly warn us of danger like that- especially for a monster of the gentle likes of Froggits. Not many humans care about what happens to monsters, and even less care about monsters that cannot speak or move around like they can."

You look up from your mug of tea in mild surprise, watching the king stare down at his own mug while he speaks.

"I do hope that what you've been dreaming about is not something that will come to pass, however," he says, prompting you to pipe up unexpectedly with, "M-me too."

Asgore lifts his head in surprise at the sound of your voice, velvet red eyes like Toriel's catching yours. Daunted by the revelation of your voice to the monster king, you shrink back in your seat noticeably and quickly dart your vision back down to your mug of tea, hands moving up to quickly sign to him.

 **'I don't want them to be true either. I hate the idea of any living creature's life being cut short unreasonably. It's one thing if it's a predator just trying to eat, but... I hate murder,'** you sign, hearing the king lightly hum in response to your statement.

"Ah. Undyne mentioned that you claim that you are not too fond of monsters... However, she's right about one thing," King Asgore laughs lightly, though you don't look up at him due to your embarrassing vocal outburst. Despite your reluctance to look away from the steaming cup of tea before you, the monster king continues anyways. "You're very considerate for someone who dislikes us so much."

 _Augh! Undyne told him I'm a_ closet softie?! _Ew, that's even worse than Libby telling them I just outright hate monsters!_ You complain in the back of your mind, feeling a rosy heat crawl up your neck much to your dismay.

**_ BANG! _ **

"Alright, King Fluffybuns! I've finished gathering all the...? Hey, _wait a second...!"_

You and Alphys spin around in your chairs immediately, making eye contact with Undyne fully dressed in armor- save for the helmet she'd tossed you before she left, claiming the weather to be too humid to wear in part with the rest. As soon as the two of you turn to face her, Undyne's expression flashes with mild shock.

"Alphys? (Name)? What are you two _doing_ here?" Undyne gawks, narrowing her gold eye on Alphys specifically in confusion. As a result, her meek girlfriend blushes in embarrassment, the golden hue of her natural scales fading away to the reddening of her face.

"W-well... Long story short, I was scared Sans was going to try and kill (Name)," Alphys admits bluntly, your gaze jumping back to the gold monster curiously. That's one way to put it... Though it's probably best if she elaborates _a little._

You sure as heck want no misunderstandings that will exacerbate the crack of hatred that you and Sans have for each other, not because you want to develop some kind of friendship with him, but because you like your head attached to your shoulders properly.

"What?! _Why?!"_ Undyne questions, face contorting into a hollow look of contained anger as she moves to walk in the rest of the way and kicks the front door closed behind her with a slam. You notice Asgore wince at the sound out of the corner of your eye, as if worried for the state of his front door

"B-b-because! Sans has the ability to see into a person's soul without extracting it like (Name) said he was trying to do! D-doesn't that seem _a little_ strange to you? Why would he ask her to do something like that if it's not even necessary?" Alphys reasons, standing up as she relays her concern to her much tougher girlfriend. For a minute, Undyne's expression is unreadable, and you watch Alphys begin to falter despite the confidence in her words. "I-I just didn't want to take any chances... Sans would never expect (Name) to be here."

“I don't mind, Undyne. You three can stay in the guest bedroom if you'd like. I've got a closet with pillows and blankets for whoever chooses to take the floor," Asgore interrupts the fish monster before she can speak, prompting her to give him a nod before refocusing on Alphys and touching her chin in thought.

"I guess... If you really think that, Alphys, then I trust your judgment!" Undyne says with a wide grin towards her girlfriend. Alphys straightens back up immediately with a revitalized smile at her much tougher significant-other when Undyne reaches over to rub the top of her head encouragingly. "But still... I sure as hell hope Sans wasn't really attempting to do that. I'd hate to upset Papyrus by mentioning his brother's behavior as of late again."

Undyne moves her gold orb back over to you so quickly that you almost think she might actually be mad at you. There's a momentary stab of pain in your thorax as you think this, but when Undyne sends a smirk your way, the feeling of alarm settles into that usual _"ugh"_ feeling you usually get around her.

 _What was that?_ You can't help but wonder, though you make a good attempt at trying to hide it from Undyne as she stretches her arms upwards and carefully makes her way over towards you.

"Hey, you said he'd return to our place to check up on you, right?" She asks with a snarky grin despite her words. You nod in confirmation, watching as that grin on her face curls with more ferocity- making her look wild and predatory. "Good. I'm gonna wait for him over there then. Alphys, take care of (Name) until I get back."

Before you can object, worried she'll make things worse, she's already racing out the door like a madwoman. The door slams behind her insane cackling of malignant glee, causing the rest of you to wince yet again at the loud sound.

...

 _Shit, I forgot to tell her about my dream involving Alphys!_ You suddenly recall, heart clenching in horror. You sure as hell can't protect Alphys if something from your nightmares turns out to be real and tries to take over her body!

Just as you're about to run after the wild fish bitch, Alphys grabs you wrist and pulls you back towards her side.

"D-don't worry! She's just going to confront Sans about this... I know you're probably worried things might become worse, but this just isn't acceptable behavior from him. If we don't intervene, something bad could happen. Please just trust us," Alphys explains, clinging to your arm until you relax beside her and bite your lip in thought.

You at least should tell her and Asgore, right? Of course... This _is_ Asgore's home after all. And if he changes his mind about you and decides he wants you dead like Sans quite possibly does, at least warning the two will give you some brownie points.

With an uneasy expression, you turn to face the two and pull away from Alphys to weave your fingers together in thought. "I actually need to talk to you two... I wanted to tell Undyne about this, but she's faster than I anticipated," you say out loud, cheeks dusting red now that you're using your voice again. You really just want to get this over with quickly, but before you can continue, the door opens and three small light green figures hop in nervously.

In an instant, recognition lights up in your brain upon taking in their frog like bodies and the separate faces on their stomachs- which now upon inspection, are actually sentient colored orbs in their arms. Each frog has a different colored orb against their bellies, violet, dark red, and one with a yellow orb. For a second, you're so shocked by this revelation that you immediately fall silent to try and recall the colored orb of the froggit in your dream.

 _Shit, what color was it? ...None of these, that much I know..._ You think, hearing King Asgore clearing his throat and stepping around you and Alphys to greet them.

"Good evening! Thank you for complying with us at such short notice, I have a room upstairs that you three may use for the time being until we get these conflicts sorted out. If you are in need of something to eat, please feel free to come let me know, alright?" King Asgore explains, giving you a quick smile and nod before turning away to lead the three clearly anxious frog monsters up the stairs past you.

You notice them take quick glances towards you out of curiosity, probably due to you being a human, but other than that only one makes a meek _"ribbit"_ sound at you that you return with a dry hum of greeting. They hop past you and up the stairs after the monster king, leaving you and Alphys alone downstairs.

"..." You stand there in silence, waiting for the return of Asgore in the comfort of the kitchen as you pick up your mug to drink more tea- which is noticeably getting colder now.

Once Asgore returns, you all take a seat again and you clear your voice to begin explaining.

"I'll start from the beginning, I guess... With the first dream, since Alphys was at work and doesn't know the details," you begin, before settling into a long explanation of everything Undyne probably already told Asgore, but had yet to explain to Alphys.

* * *

**(At Undyne's Place)**

 

Sans pops into existence in the living room of Undyne's home, only to blanch slightly when he notices Undyne in the middle to picking up leftover snacks and drinks from the floor. He's never been one to be oblivious, and quickly makes note of the absence of both you and Alphys as soon as he gets there.

 _Where are they...?_ He wonders, taking a glance over at the hall in curiosity until he hears the sound of something being noisily crushed ahead of him. Sans' head snaps back over towards Undyne in mild alarm, watching her crushing an empty sturdier-than-average aluminum bottle of melon soda as she turns to face Sans with a dark look in her single gold eye.

"Good. You're here. _We need to talk,"_ Undyne practically hisses, just before crumbling all the trash in her arms up and shoving them in a plastic bag she's also got in her mangling grip.

For a second, Sans can feel his bones rattle with unease, but eventually settles himself to relax and walk on over to take a seat on the couch. Undyne does the same, though she turns in her seat to face Sans with her legs crossed and back straightened in an intimidating manner. Sans can only guess what she wants to talk about, but considering your lack of a presence (as well as Alphys'), it's obviously got something to do with _you._

 _What the hell did she tell them to make Undyne like this?_ Sans immediately wonders, glaring right up at Undyne. He's never been too close with Undyne to begin with- as she's mostly his brother's friend. All he did in the underground was take a few posts to keep watch for humans (read: laze around). Alphys on the other hand, he knew a little better. Of course, that was in the past- when they used to talk science with each other.

Before the Resets.

Before Frisk.

Now, he mostly just tagged along to visit the two only if his brother asked for him to join. Although, even then, he usually declined. Now, with Toriel and Frisk? Those two he could hang out with and get along with better- considering their **bone-a-fide** love for his puns. He use to have trouble connecting with Frisk- especially straight after their emerging from the Underground, but with some chatting as friends and some good food, they came to an agreement after some life lessons were taught.

No more **Resetting** time. No more **Saving**. No more **Loading**.

No more _secrets._

...

And with the kid's agreement, Sans got real close to Frisk as a result. Especially now- four months since they left the mountain. The _furthest_ they've ever gotten in a timeline, if Sans' uncanny knack for déjà vu was anything to go by. If he had to guess... The last timeline upon reaching the surface lasted maybe one entire month. He could recall feeling déjà vu that entire month on the surface... Until it all stopped being vaguely familiar. Sans had been _so_ uncomfortable during that second month, not having a vague idea of what could happen- especially after their apartment got vandalized in the middle of the month.

He eventually got over his unease, and now that everything appears to be going well... He can honestly say he might actually start putting a little effort in things.

After all- that's why he decided to enroll in some classes following the admittance of monsters in colleges. So far, monsters still don't have many rights yet, but... hopefully they'll get there.

"So, (Name) told us something _very_ interesting earlier," Undyne begins with a fake smile, staring Sans down unblinkingly with her single eye. Sans just sits there and listens, waiting to hear what _wonderful_ things you might have said about him. No doubt you probably told them he was trying to kill you- you seem like the kind of chick that would try to make yourself appear like the victim of an imaginary danger. "She said you want to pull out her soul because you think she's murderous human. She said she complied- but it didn't work..."

Undyne's grin tilts downwards in a sour grimace.

"That's cool. Asking someone who doesn't know any better to show you the most private aspects of themselves. Even better, _asking someone that when you don't even need to pull their soul out,"_ Undyne growls, her expression getting darker and darker the more she speaks. "If there's ever been a time you should completely explain for yourself and _not_ leave it at a lazy remark of how tired you were, _now's the time."_

Sans raises a single brow bone of confusion- until he realizes how badly that sounds. Undyne is absolutely right, he slipped and _told you himself_ to ask Alphys about the issue with your soul. Of course the two would jump to conclusions.

"I can't see her soul through her body," Sans bluntly answers her, causing Undyne to falter just _slightly,_ relaxing her glare only to let him know she's listening. At this, Sans sighs heavily and gets in a comfortable slouch. "I can see it's _there-_ I just can't see her **Love** and **Exp** , etcetera, etcetera... You can hardly blame me for wanting to make sure, can you?"

Undyne snaps particularly at this point, jumping up to her feet on the couch furiously. Sans can't help but flinch when she does this, inching back from her a little with wide eye sockets.

" _'Hardly blame you',_ huh?! You shouldn't even be sticking your non-existent nose there in the first place! Why are you such a dick to her?! She hasn't _done_ anything! AT ALL! The only one who looks like they could be a murderer is _you!"_ Undyne yells, the magic in her body swelling up enough to make Sans straighten up and get on his feet to back away from the sofa. The swelling of her magic is a telltale red flag that she's close to getting ready to use an attack, and if it's anything to go by, Undyne is not known for sparing much mercy off the bat...

"U-Undyne, calm down...!" Sans stammers a bit, hands held up in defense as his eye lights narrow on her carefully. Sure, he can dodge all her attacks. He could even high tail it right out of there via teleportation if he really wanted to. However, if he doesn't resolve this issue, he might not be able to approach you under any circumstances in the future, which he very well might need to if you're going to be hovering around _his_ _brother_.

Sans is still worried over your date with Papyrus- and what it could mean if his brother decides he's enchanted enough with you to consider becoming your...!

Sans shivers in disgust at the thought. No way is he going to let you get in a relationship with Papyrus.

 _"Don't tell me to calm down, I'm perfectly under control,"_ Undyne snaps in a dangerously low voice, her words contradicting her tone and disposition.

"I'm only looking out for-" Sans begins, but a flash of blue in the shape of a speared harpoon comes flying down at him, narrowly missing (obviously on purpose) his pelvis and lodging itself in the carpet of the living room at an angle between his legs. Might have even ripped his shorts a bit... "Huh. **Short** temper tonight, eh?"

"You'd better have a good reason other than that lame ass excuse, bone-boy, or the next one's going a little higher," Undyne barks back at him in a snarl, a second spear already prepped in her right hand as she waits for Sans to speak.

"Alright, alright..." Sans visibly relaxes, stepping over the spear between his legs after a little coughing when he notices just how _suggestive_ it looks. Undyne appears to be too pissed off to notice, thank goodness. "You know I'm hanging around her best friend, Libby, right? Well, she said a few strange things about (Name) and I'm just acting accordingly in case what she said is true."

Undyne snorts unattractively at this, but lowers her spear slightly to roll her single eye. "Yeah, I don't like her. (Name) vanishes for a few days and she doesn't bother to visit her in the hospital after she got kidnapped and nearly killed just cause they have different views on things? Yeah, some friend... She didn't even call the police to help find her."

Sans brow bone knits together at this.

 _Huh? Yes she did, I told her to call the cops after I noticed something was wrong and that their home was practically undisturbed the entire time... How does Undyne know that Libbs didn't do anything anyways?_ Sans wonders, but only for a moment since Undyne starts speaking again.

"I should know, 'cause Alphys and I had to go over to the station and explain for a call _we_ made when we found her and the body of her abductor. They were totally shitty to us, but they said no one called looking for, quote-unquote, 'The rich bitch's sister'. Crazy that they actually know _Liberty Sterling_ by her full name, don't you think?"

Sans can tell she's trying to insinuate something, but before he can point it out to her, Undyne visibly relaxes the tension in her shoulders and looks up at the ceiling, closing her one eye as the spear in her hand and the one embedded in the carpet dissipates with her temper.

"Listen, I didn't come here to play 'who has the better human'. Just _watch yourself._ (Name) isn't perfect, that much I'll admit. She's stubborn, she's a total recluse, and she has a real attitude problem- not that _you're_ any different," Undyne pointedly remarks, making Sans' eye lights vanish for a moment as anger fills his soul. "I'm just saying you should probably take a closer look at this _'Liberty'_ character before you go believing every word that falls from her lips about (Name). I won't say I know (Name) well, 'cause I _don't_ , even if our recent bonding has reached a point that allows _soul force._ So considering we just met our humans- the _both_ of us- maybe it's only fair we take the time to actually do things the right way before we decide if we're gonna stay friends or split paths."

Undyne glares.

 _"Without_ nosing around and looking at their souls, mind you," she stresses, causing Sans to lean back on his slippered heels in thought.

_Well, at least she isn't throwing anymore spears at me... But she's got a point._

Sans touches his chin thoughtfully, looking back at his time with Libby so far. Hell, he didn't even know Liberty Sterling was her full name, he just heard Libby and left things at that.

Sans eye lights flash with realization.

Thinking about it now... He doesn't know _jack shit_ about Liberty Sterling. He knows more about _you_ than he does about your best friend- although it's not like he's going to tell Undyne that. She'd surely blow a gasket if she heard that he went through your diary to boot the whole soul issue.

"Fine. I hear ya," Sans agrees in resignation, but before he can say anything else, Undyne clamps her hand around his bony wrist. Startled by the contact, Sans looks up at Undyne in question after flinching a bit. He's damn near close to pulling a gaster-blaster on her, even though he knows she's just looking out for you. Still, even _Sans_ knows that Undyne isn't someone to mess with.

 _"Promise me_ that you won't look at their souls. Not unless they give you permission on their own merit, _without_ any influence from you," Undyne says, causing Sans eye lights to vanish in warning.

"You know I don't like making promises, Undyne," Sans retorts with a hollow voice of contained anger. Undyne doesn't appear fazed whatsoever by his efforts to intimidate her- quite possibly due to never having seen him put effort in anything- let alone _fighting._

"Make an effort this time. After all, ' _you can hardly blame me for wanting to make sure, can you?'"_ She snaps, using Sans own words against him much to his chagrin. He doesn't want to promise her. He hates making promises- and he has that déjà vu feeling that a few of the times he's made the same promise to Toriel, it didn't fly so well. What if that same thing happens again because Undyne's made him promise to not look at your soul?

...It shouldn't just be about you though, she's right. He should probably take a closer look at Libby- even if he _is_ comfortable around her.

However... He can't do that if he promises Undyne.

...

He could always try to find out if _Libby_ has a diary though, couldn't he?

Sans sighs and his eye lights return, offering Undyne a respectable lazy grin. "You're right. I'm sorry, Undyne. I have been a bit of a bone head, haven't I?" He says, sugarcoating his words with laziness as he moves to hold Undyne's hand in his. "I promise I won't look at their souls, Cap'n."

Undyne relaxes her glare into a grin, snickering at his words as they shake hands in agreement. "...No more of a bone head than I am... Well, yeah, you did kind of go a little too far though, but that's why I'm here. To make sure it _doesn't_ go any further regarding 'Miss Human' and 'Pretty Human'.  Heh, Paps and his original names, I swear... Can't he come up with a nickname for a human that _doesn't_ include the word 'human' in it?"

Sans laughs a little at this point.

"That's a **tall** order for him, don'cha think? Besides, I can't **sea** _you_ coming up with anything better for them. Are you **shore** you can compete?" Sans starts to joke, watching as Undyne's grin slowly tilts down into a familiar grimace of comical enragement.

_"Get out."_

* * *

**(Back at Asgore's)**

 

"...Oh," Alphys says with a nervous expression, reaching up to fix her glasses for the fifth time since you finally started explaining your dream about her and Static. "A-and you were supposed to remain calm and keep your eyes closed? D-do you know why this Static person wanted you to not look at it?"

You can tell Alphys is just a little more nervous than normal, and you immediately regret telling her. Maybe you should have told Undyne and Asgore only... Still, even though she's scared, you believe she has a right to know. It could save her life to know about it, right? I-if your dreams are real visions, that is...

"Static said that I can't look at it without it's _something._ I just don't know what that _something_ is. That part of his sentence was all jumbled and static sounding," you explain, turning to face Asgore. "Either way... I just want to make sure you two know just in case."

"Maybe you should stay here too then, Alphys? Asgore suggests thoughtfully, hands folded over the table as he turns to the royal scientist.

Alphys shakes her head, looking over at the monster king with an uneasy smile. "I have to go to work still, and this month we're doing the human soul studies... I can't just stay here the entire time! The teams counting on me. A-and (Name)'s also going to be signing up. I told her I'd be the one to handle the studies on her soul..." Alphys reasons, causing Asgore to look away and stroke his blonde goatee... Okay, there's no avoiding that pun.

"...Perhaps I can have Undyne place someone from the Canine Unit to watch over you? I know I have disbanded the Royal Guard more or less, but I am sure they would be willing to take care of you if I ask of them. Would Lesser Dog suffice?" Asgore inquires in question.

Alphys looks down at her hands on the table at his suggestion, before taking a deep breath and meeting his gaze.

"Actually, I think I'd like Greater Dog. I'm a little worried about Lesser Dog and his neck problem... I wouldn't want any of the humans accidentally falling victim to his... special ability," Alphys says with a nervous smile, resulting in a laugh from Asgore and a raised eyebrow from you.

 _'Neck problem'...? 'Special Ability'?_ _What kind of dog monsters are these?_ You wonder, just as the sound of a door opening upstairs has you and Alphys looking up at the stairs in confusion. Is that one of those Froggits coming down in search of food?

"Oh, do not worry. I'm sure that's just the guest I am housing for the time being... She's been asleep for a few hours so I'm sure she must be a bit famished," Asgore says, standing up as footsteps audibly start to descend from the second story.

As soon as their feet come in sight, you and Alphys stand up as well in surprise. They're _human_ feet... Who is Asgore housing?

"Would you like to meet her?" King Asgore asks kindly, moving so that he's closer to the stairs than the two of you. "She's been here for two months now, and has done remarkably well for someone unaccustomed to the land and people of this lifestyle- even though she said she came from somewhere undeveloped..." Asgore pauses to contemplate this, side glancing towards the stairs as the human comes into view. "I'm not quite sure what that means, but I assume she's not from a place much like this."

As soon as you spot the hardly damaged smoky eye make-up and the gold irises of the Amazonian-tall woman that stops as she catches sight of you and Alphys, recognition sets in.

 _I know her...! She's that woman that called Sans and I childish after I ran away when he locked me out of Undyne's!_  You think in surprise, watching as she turns to look at King Asgore in a sleepy manner. Holy crap, she's just a little shorter than him...!

"Hi," she says to the monster king, prompting a gentle smile on Asgore's face. He looks content to see her, and gestures towards you and Alphys.

"Druella, these are my guests- Alphys my Royal Scientist, and (Name), her friend. They will be spending the night here due to some conflict with a friend of theirs," Asgore introduces the two of you, before looking at you and Alphys again. You can't help but scoff in your head at his explanation of your issue with Sans, considering Sans is _definitely_ in no way, shape, or form, your friend whatsoever. "(Name). Alphys. This is Druella. She's a visitor here and is still figuring things out, so I ask that you be patient with her if she doesn't understand something."

Druella walks on over towards you and Alphys, giving Alphys an appraising look that somewhat makes the shy monster inch closer to your side as a result. You don't do anything though, since Druella isn't really bothering her. She soon stops to focus her attention on you, giving you a similar stare of curiosity until she moves to sit on a chair beside you with that familiar expressionless face of ease you'd seen back in the alley when Sans locked you out of Undyne's place.

You soon sit down as well, and noting your behavior, Alphys follows suit.

"Would you all like to eat something? I have some food I cooked a few hours ago, just give me a moment..." King Asgore speaks up, seemingly prancing towards the kitchen despite the late hour. He quite obviously enjoys having so much company...

You peek a glance over at Druella in thought, finding relief in another human in the vicinity after being around so many monsters as of late.

 _I wonder why_ she's _here of all places... I'm sure Asgore didn't just let her in for no reason,_ you think, until you notice Druella's eyes flick over towards you- catching you watching her. You stiffen up in surprise, but she does nothing other than stare back calmly at you.

Odd reaction for an odd girl.

 _Fitting enough,_ you guess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaay, it's Friday! Expect another chapter NEEEXT Friday! :D
> 
> Also...! *violently throws confetti around* 194 Kudos?! 210 Comments (although I'm sure half are my replies, but still), 2353 hits?! We've come a long way! And there is only MOAR TO COME~! 
> 
> I wanna give a big thanks to everyone sticking around to read my silly story. Especially those that never gave up on me during my hiatus last year. Thanks for believing in me like Papyrus believes in me. I'm so glad I decided to take the time to edit and continue where I left off!
> 
> Anyways, all of you are the best~!
> 
> Nyehfully yours,
> 
> OnceUponAReset
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	19. Monster Under the Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You yourself are starting to notice that you're exhibiting some questionable affection towards some monsters. Sans, in his search for more information on you and Libby via diaries, ends up spying on a conversation between you and Undyne.

Chapter 19: Monster Under the Bed

 

You nearly miss your mouth in your attempts to shovel in a spoonful of cornflakes into your mouth, ignoring the chuckles of Undyne across the table as you revise your sleepy aim and resume eating.

 _Shut up, fish bitch,_ _go suck an octopus dong..._

Lucky you, you don't say that out loud like you've been doing lately, and you _know_ you don't, because you're busy chewing your food anyways. HA! The secret to countering your pesky runaway jaw is merely to feed it!

...

You should have figured that out a long time ago...

At that moment, it's eight AM, and by the looks of things, only you and Undyne appear to be awake at the moment. Normally, you'd probably be shooting her dirty looks and shit, however... This morning is _special._ Why?

Because.

Undyne, like the horrible little bitch she is, hadn't come back last night until you and Alphys had fallen asleep. You _tried_ to stay up and wait for her to get back- but unfortunately, sleep won you over. The filthy hoodrat herself had snuck into yours and Alphys room later that night and flopped over into dreamland without giving one _single_ fuck about telling you what happened in her mission to confront Sans.

And shit, you _really_ want to know what went down. Undyne's wild and crazy killer instincts versus Sans and his apparent megalomaniac intimidation tactics? Just what in the holy hell could have possibly happened in that showdown?!

"Stop starin' at me like that, girlie, I promise I'll tell you in the car on the way to the campus," Undyne snorts unattractively, speaking around the cereal she's chewing as she scrolls through an unfamiliar social media account on your smart phone. Seems like she's making an account for you on some weird site...

...Sure as hell better not be E-Harmony or some shit like that.

Just as you're shoveling in one of the last bites of your cereal, the front door audibly opens and shuts with a soft click of metal. Contrary to yours and Undyne's previous thoughts about everyone else being knocked out, Druella strolls on in with wet locks- the water soaking her hair causing the two streaks of pink and yellow on the left side of her head to pop out against her natural black hair. She's wearing a one piece black swimsuit of a plain and simple design, a damp towel slung over one shoulder despite that she's only half dried off. With water trailing down from her hair in copious amounts, she stops on her way to the stairs to greet the two of you when she notices your presence in the kitchen.

"Good morning," she greets the two of you calmly, pulling her long hair back in a low bun behind her neck to keep the water from escaping any more than it already is.

"Hey," you reply back, peeking a glance at Undyne to see the fish bitch eyeing Druella suspiciously. Huh, that's strange... It's almost like Undyne's never seen Druella before. Asgore said Druella had been here for two months already- Does Undyne not visit Asgore much? And if she does, has she just not visited while Druella was in the house? You open your mouth to clear things up before Undyne can assume anything and try to kill the woman. "Asgore introduced her to us while you went off to confront Sans. Druella's been here for a while now."

As soon as you say this, Undyne's expression of weariness diminishes, prompting the fish bitch to offer Druella's cool exterior a grin.

"Oh, so _you're_ the girl Asgore mentioned to me a few times. I was starting to think you didn't exist since every time I stopped by, you weren't home. I'm Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard! ...Or at least I used to be. Just get back from swimming?" Undyne queries innocently, making you return your gaze to Druella, who you now notice has a playful glint in her eyes despite her flat expression.

"...Cliff diving, actually," she corrects, watching Undyne's jaw flop open in respectful awe of disbelief before Druella casually continues her way upstairs to probably hit the shower.

 _She does that crazy activity? Cliff diving?! Ugh, I hate high places, I could never do that..._ you think to yourself with a shudder. You've seen people cliff diving in an area south from the city and further away from Mt. Ebott, which is claimed to be one of the best places in the area to plunge into the unknown. You've always thought those people were crazy, and you're quite certain they have some kind of death wish.

It's so weird that Druella totally does that- she doesn't look like those screaming, thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies.

"Duuuude, that chick sounds like _my_ type of friend!" Undyne says as she stares after Druella, watching the woman climb the stairs to the second floor.

**_STAB!_ **

Your spoon clatters noisily in your bowl when you lose your grip getting the next bite of cereal, a sharp unidentifiable feeling you don't quite understand or like making itself known in your chest.

 _Whoa, what the hell was that...?_ You wonder momentarily, touching your thorax lightly with a curious expression before brushing the incident off to pick up your spoon again.

...

...?

At Undyne's sudden silence, you raise your eyes from your scereal to look at her in question, pausing mid-chewing when you see a fleering grin stretched across her smug face. As you meet her eye, her sneer only widens... And you can't figure out for the life of you why she's looking at you that way.

Not even when she opens her big, fat mouth to make a comment.

"What was _that,_ girlie?" Undyne cackles, making you shift your eyes around in confusion until you look back at her. You're no less puzzled than you'd been when she first opened her mouth.

"What was what?" You ask, watching the fish bitch grin smugly as she leans back in her seat and crosses her arms.

"...Nothing," she eventually answers cryptically, shifting to stand up with a small laugh of amusement. "Nothin' at all."

You narrow your eyes on her back as she stretches out her muscles, searching for an answer to her behavior despite that she's giving you her back. You're not stupid, it's obvious she's keeping something from you... Even worse, it's obviously about you and it's making her _laugh._ If that's not a cause for concern, you don't know _what_ is.

Before you can stand up and demand that she give you answers, a sharp bark from the entrance has the two of you turning back towards the door in question.

 _A dog bark...?_ You think as you turn, only for your eyes to widen in disbelief...

...At the huge, utter adorableness that has pranced it's merry way into King Asgore's abode undetected until that very moment.

"Heey, GD! Here to watch my girl for the day, chump?!" Undyne greets the monster with a huge grin, racing over to the dog's side without any other regard for whatever she was previously laughing at you for.

 _GD... As in Greater Dog?_ This _monster is_ Greater Dog _?_ You think in disbelief, standing and rounding the table to get a better look at him.

To your immense shock, Greater Dog is exactly as his name implies. A huge dog with an excited visage of undiluted jolliness  as he spots you approaching a couple feet away.

His tail, already wagging upon seeing Undyne, now whips to and fro wildly as you get closer- slapping against the _huge_ bipedal armor of pure steel he wears. As you look more, you notice there's even a dog face etched on his right gauntlet and on the blade of the tall spear he holds beside himself. The dog monster's white furry head looks obviously much smaller than the rest of his body, which bears the resemblance to the breed of regular dogs known as Pomeranians.

"Careful, (Name)," Undyne says seriously as you approach cautiously. You glance in her direction with a raised eyebrow. Careful of what? Getting kissed to death? "This isn't your average pooch of the mill. GD is a force to be reckoned- he can pick up cars and shit. He could even _eviscerate_ you if he wanted to!"

A dubious whimper escapes Greater Dog as Undyne says the last part, the dog's small head turning to look down at Undyne with a somewhat begging expression. Undyne meets the monster's gaze and snickers evilly.

"Alright, _alright!_ I'm kidding. GD is always open for some TLC... Seriously, he's a giant twinkie for belly rubs and fetch. STILL! He could kick your ass though if he wanted," Undyne corrects herself with a smirk, watching as you glare at her for trying to scare you.

_Rotten fish bitch..._

When you look back at Greater Dog, you notice that he's gotten a bit closer to you in the time you were glaring at Undyne.

...

 _Shit, I know where this is going. I am_ NOT _petting a dog monster! I only pet normal dogs! Go away._

You turn away with a huff and walk back over to collect your dishes from the table, pushing your chair back in place and...

 _Not_ taking your dishes to the sink because there is a giant armored fuzz ball of joy standing his jovial ass even closer to you than before- evidently blocking your path of escape.

_God damn it... Well... I guess a quick pet wouldn't hurt. Undyne isn't watching, is she...? I don't want her to start thinking I like monsters all of a sudden..._

You shift to peek around Greater Dog to see Undyne tying her shoelaces and facing the complete opposite direction in the living room, causing Greater Dog to visibly shift closer to you in obvious hopes of reclaiming your earlier attention.

_Fine, whatever! Now's my chance!_

You set the plates back down and face Greater Dog, beckoning him closer with your hands quietly. Almost immediately, the monster's tongue lolls out and he gleefully throws his head around for a second before lowering himself to let you reach his fluffy head. A few moments of fluffing the fur around his face lovingly- and the dog monster leaps back with loud pants and whines of eagerness, pawing at the ground in front of himself like he wants to play.

 _Shit, he's too noisy! I need to get this over with_ now, _before Undyne notices!_

Undyne, still tying... Or untying? Who bloody fuckin' knows, either way, she doesn't even notice when you snatch a nearby chopstick from a cup of diverse eating utensils on the table, throwing it out the open window by the kitchen table with all your might. You watch as it flies out, eyes soon losing its path with discouragement. You're half expecting that Greater Dog will give up and stare at you in confusion like a normal dog might have done in this case if they couldn't see the thrown item well...

When the dog monster pounces out the open window though, his armor is left standing beside you like an empty shell, revealing the far more dog-like quadruped form of Greater Dog as he lands his fluffy form on the flowers outside the window clumsily, rolling about and kicking all four legs in the air adorably to right himself before getting back on all fours and speeding off in the distance like a missile. You didn't throw the chopstick _that_ far, did you...?

You're rendered speechless as you watch Greater Dog frolic for a moment in the flowers, reaching an area of flowers where the gold petals conceal him enough that he has to bounce around so that he can see over the field and find where the chopstick vanished.

...Greater Dog- so adorable like an ordinary surface dog, except that he's also a monster... And it leaves you aggravatingly conflicted inside.

"Alright, ready to go get your clothes, (Name)-? Hey, where did...? Damn it, (Name), you caved in and pet him, didn't you?" Undyne demands, nailing you with a leer that dares you to lie to her as you turn to see her place both hands on her hips.

So you do exactly that.

"No," you answer.

** THONK! **

You swing around in time to see a large log nearly the same size as Greater Dog himself laying by your feet. Looking at the standing armor to your left, you bite your lip when you see that Greater Dog's butt and delightfully wagging tail has taken the place of where his head should be.

...

You face Undyne again, chastened.

"...Yes," you admit, pouting sourly at the grin of amusement playing at her jagged-toothed mouth.

Greater Dog merely whimpers beside you, the sound echoing from the depths of his large armor distantly.

* * *

**_ Monday: February 2nd, 20XX _ **

_ 'I had a weird dream last night. I was in a long, dark corridor trying to get to the other end, but I couldn't move. Someone was pushing me to the other side... Except there was no one besides me in there. By the time I reached the other end, the ground got steep and I started rolling away. Instead of stopping at the bottom though, there was water and I fell in. I tried to swim back up, but only kept getting pulled deeper and deeper... Usually I'd tell Lucette, the house maid, about my weird dreams, but she's gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye to her. Libby's parents won't even tell me why they fired her last month, and when I asked for her number, they said I couldn't have it. So much for a new year with more than one friend... And I can't tell Libby because she's usually too busy talking about her own things that I can't get a single word of my own in. I don't mind, but I wish I could talk to her a little more about things like these. Normally, if I can get something in, she just brushes it off as a "stupid dream and nothing more". At least Lucette makes a few notable theories as to why I'd have dreams like that... I miss her.' _

Sans exhales heavily as he sits on your bed, fingering the side of the diary pages as he moves on to the next passage.

As of this 'new year' part of your diary, your entries have gotten noticeably more solemn. You have a bleak outlook in regards to life now, and although Sans has been searching for something like this in your diary, the entries presented at this point just aren't enough yet.

It appears as if the house maid, Lucette, was someone you held dearly and had either been forced away or upped and left on her own... The latter sounds unfathomable to Sans though, considering the way you talked about how warmly she spoke to you and how much care you described the way she was when the two of you were around each other. Once again, he sympathizes with you for your loss, nearly forgetting that the owner of this diary might very well be a murderer.

 _Focus,_ Sans reminds himself, moving on to the next entry.

**_ Thursday: February 5th, 20XX _ **

_ 'I found Lucette's old wedding ring... In Libby's room. So I've taken it back. Libby hasn't ever tried to be around Lucette like I have anyways, but I'm guessing Lucette must have dropped it the last time she was here. It's from her late husband who passed away, and I remember her saying how much it meant to her- wearing it even though he was gone. I tried to use it as a way of getting Libby's parents to give me Lucette's phone number under the pretenses of returning the ring, but they got mad and nearly took the ring away from me... I'm going to trail mud on the antique rug that Libby's parents love so much in the living room. See how  _ they _like the loss of something important of theirs..._

Sans chuckles as he reads the end of this entry. Well, at least you're still spunky enough to get back at Libby's horrible parents for denying you of Lucette...

With a glance at the clock by your bedside, Sans quickly memorizes the page number he's on before he locks up your diary once again. He'd woken up early to get started on his search for Libby's diary before his class that morning, and thankfully, Libby wasn't present _at all_ when he got there.

Waking up at the unholy hour of seven AM, Sans had time to eat (read: hide) Papyrus'... _Breakfast,_ get something at his pal, Grillby's, new burger joint, and retrieve his now clean favorite blue jacket before teleporting off to your home. Papyrus, an early bird as always, decidedly stayed home to try and organize the house as best as he could. With Sans growing sock collection migrating towards the kitchen ever so slowly, Papyrus claimed it was time to put his foot down on the aftermath of Sans laziness...

...Which meant Papyrus gets to clean everything and Sans doesn't have to lift a finger. Just how he likes it.

When Sans got there, the first thing he did was make sure Libby wasn't home- even though he had doubts that the house would be empty. Once he'd confirmed her absence and fed their small cat (Libby doesn't feed the kitten, by the looks of it), Sans got to work on searching for the theoretical diary that Libby could have.

...

As of now, Sans hasn't found neither hide nor hair of this apparent diary- if she even _does_ have one.

So he settled with looking through _yours_ in the meantime. He's going to have to keep looking for Libby's diary once he has more time on his hands. Plus... He still wants a nap before his class and-

" _NGAH HAH HAH!_ My freaking GOD, (Name)! Your _face though!_ You were all, 'nope, didn't pet him', but the look on your _face_...! ... _Pppffft!"_

The sound of Undyne's voice and the door to your home slamming open makes Sans' entire body tense with horror. He should probably get the heck out of there, but...

He kind of wants to see how you behave around Undyne when she's the only one around. There _has_ to be a reason Undyne is interested in you, right? Well, Sans just needs to figure out what that reason is and maybe it'll help in getting Undyne to leave you alone.

One less problem for Sans.

Sans shoves your diary in its place and crawls under your bed swiftly, blowing out a quiet breath when he notices that it's relatively clean of all objects as well as dust bunnies- which means you have absolutely no reason to be looking under there.

"Shut up," you snap from the living room, causing Sans to make a face as he hears your voice. What the hell does Undyne see in you that makes her want to be your best friend? You're terribly rude- look at the way you talk to her.

 _"Aww,_ is da wittle _hoo-man_ upset Undyne kawt hew giving Gweater Dawg a wittle bit of _wuv_?"

"GET LOST, _DORY,"_ you snarl, sounding much louder and absolutely _livid._ Sans' has only heard you talk like that two other times: back when you met him and he first started threatening you, and second when you were trying to uselessly pummel him after he kidnapped you from Undyne and Toriel.

 _...What was that about giving Greater Dog love? Did this bitch really_ pet _Greater Dog...?_ Sans wonders, quirking a single brow bone in interest as he listens in to your conversation with Undyne.

"I'm _just_ saying! He is a monster and everything... Maybe that iron shell of yours is finally starting to crack a bit. Sooner or later, you're going to have to admit it," Undyne continues to talk, just as the door to your room is thrown open. Sans automatically cringes back against the wall discreetly and pulls his hood over his skull, eye lights dimming as he watches your bare feet storm in- leading Undyne's casual stride into your bedroom.

You reflexively make a noise of disgust as you pass by the ever-spinning trash tornado at the corner of your room, causing Sans to smile a little in satisfaction.

"Admit _what,"_ you snap at her more than ask, walking over to the dresser in your room and rummaging through a few drawers. Sans leers in confusion at the pair of feet only visible to his eyes. What's Undyne talking about...?

"You know. That you don't actually hate monsters and that it's just an excuse you're using because you're afraid of being close to anyone other than Liberty Sterling."

** SLAM! **

_"MOTHER F-!"_

Sans violently flinches when one of the drawers to your dresser crashes to the floor in front of you- slamming down on your left foot hard enough that Sans himself can practically feel the pain when his leg draws closer to himself at the sight. _Yikes._ That must have **drawn** some pain...

Hehehe. Get dunked on, bitch.

While Sans, despite the initial empathy for your pain, celebrates at your pained whines, you suddenly fall back onto your ass in his line of vision and take heavy breaths after Undyne pulls the drawer off of your foot. In a fraction of a second, Sans stops cheering and his eye lights vanish entirely.

_Oh, shit...!_

If you turn right, you'll be able to see him. You're completely on the ground, clutching your foot despite Undyne's attempts to make you let go, causing Sans to freeze like a statue under your bed. If Sans teleports now, you'll spot the glow of his eye from where you are- he'll _never_ be able to live this down if you tell Undyne.

...Literally. Because Undyne will likely send a spear through each of his eye sockets.

_Please don't look this way, please don't look this way- be cool, Sans. **Be cool.**_

"Punk, let me see," Undyne demands as she kneels beside you. Much to Sans surprise, tears are forming in the corner of your eyes, but despite your obvious pain, you relinquish your hold on your foot, allowing Undyne to gently pull it towards her lap by your ankle.

Sans makes a slight face as he catches slight of the red dots forming atop a slightly skinned area of your foot, Undyne raising a hand after whistling in interest.

"Daamn, you humans are weird. I can't believe you seep this stuff out when your skin gets damaged. That's just _gross_..." Despite the tears that are now trailing down your flushed cheeks, you shoot the fish monster an angry scowl of rage. "...But totally cool at the same time?"

Sans is slowly winding down on tension as he watches Undyne lift her webbed right hand, allowing a glow of green to form around her palm before gently hovering it over the wound on your foot. Your expression begins to ease itself into one of relaxation as you stare at Undyne with interest, blinking several times in hazy confusion.

The skeleton under your bed feels his usually shut jaw drop open in absolute disbelief.

Undyne, the Captain of the Royal Guard and hunter of humans in the underground... Is using _healing magic_ on a _human?_ And **_you_** of _all humans?!_

Now, this probably isn't much of a big deal to _your_ eyes, but healing magic isn't just hover, glow, **bam** you're healed _._ Healing magic involves one person- the healer- sacrificing their own **HP** ( **hope** ) to heal another person's- the receiver's- loss of **HP**. Not just any monster is going to do that for another monster, not unless they are very close to the injured or they are part of the royal family like Toriel and Asgore, both who _can_ and _will_ heal any wounded monster considering the drastic amounts of **HP** they have as Boss Monsters taking care of their people.

So, needless to say, the fact that a _human_ is on the receiving end of this is a pretty big deal. For _Undyne_ to be the one doing this for a human? Even _more_ unbelievable.

See, healing is also a very _intimate_ thing. If a monster is sacrificing some of their hope to heal another's, there is a temporary connection in which the two on either end may feel some emotions from one another. It's like an emotion _hotwire_.

 _What the hell...? Why is Undyne going so far for_ her _?!_

Sans eye lights drift back over to you.

You're not crying anymore, in fact, you look absolutely stunned. Why are you so surprised? What are you sensing from Undyne?

"...Good news, punk, you're gonna live!" Undyne blurts out as soon as the glow of her hand settles, reaching in the pocket of her sleeveless black hoodie and bringing out what Sans catches as a piece of monster candy that she immediately pops into her mouth.

Sans' brow bones furrow in confusion. If she had monster candy on herself, they why didn't she just give _that_ to you instead of succumbing herself to your pain by using healing magic...?

... _Unless... Undyne is trying to use that link as a way to take a peek at how (Name) reacts to getting healed by her. Still, that's no reason to be using healing magic on a human...!_

Sans leers carefully at Undyne, trying to gauge whether she found what she was looking for or not. Other than a slight hum of interest, Undyne's expression gives nothing away other than amusement at the look that is still glued to your face. In any other instance, Sans would have lost his shit as well- your face is totally red and you are in desperate need of cleaning the pathetic tears off of your face.

"...What was _that?"_ You ask with a guarded tone of discomfort, glaring at Undyne despite the tears still present on your face. Undyne shifts from where she is, but since she's only kneeling, Sans can't see her from the neck up.

When she hands a small towel to you from somewhere, you snatch it out of her hands and back away from her a foot or so, quickly wiping at your eyes as you sit up with an even redder face. You have a shorter torso than Undyne, making it easier to see your expression despite sitting in the same position as Undyne.

Lucky for Sans, he doesn't have to worry about you spotting him anymore, and holds in the urge to sigh in relief.

"Magic. You know? _Abra-kadabra?_ If you want specifics, you're going to have to ask Alphys- I ain't no _nerd_ , girlie. Now get dressed, we only have thirty minutes before my class starts- and I am _not_ letting you walk to school after what happened with that kidnapping asshat!" Undyne says, standing up and moving to take a seat on your bed.

Sans winces as the bed creaks to Undyne's weight, the fish monster then swinging her legs atop and letting out a sigh of contentment while the skeleton glares up at the bottom of your bed with a disgruntled grimace.

"What is this, a memory foam bed? Dang, you're just livin' the high life, aren't ya?" Undyne snorts in amusement, acting like she hadn't just done _healing magic on a human._

You grunt in reply, going to the fallen drawer and lifting it up to put it back in its rightful place. Next thing Sans knows, something hits the floor close to the front of the bed and his face begins to heat up with a blue tint of horror.

You're getting _undressed_.

Well, it _is_ your room after all, but Sans DEFINITELY doesn't want to see the human body uncovered...

Following what appears to be your shirt is your bra, a simple white cupped garment that makes Sans inwardly cringe in both disapproval and shame. He should cover his eye sockets, he should _definitely_ cover his-

"What's that under your chest?" Undyne suddenly asks, while the sound of shuffling clothes fills the room.

"Birthmark," you reply, your voice slightly annoyed. This time though, Sans can understand how you'd be vexed by Undyne studying you while you dress, and rolls his eye lights at Undyne's antics. That woman is too much, that's for sure.

"Weird..."

Sans flinches again when your bottoms land on the floor, eye lights narrowing on the clothes you're just tossing by your bed.

 _"Me-ew!"_ The sound of a kitten mewling as it scampers into the room has Sans going stock still, the white and brown tabby making a dangerous bee line for him _straight under the bed._

_FUCK!_

Sans gives the kitten a threatening look, a desperate attempt to stop it from meowing it's way over to his hiding spot. Unfortunately for the skeleton monster, the kitten is oblivious to this threat and continues trotting its way over to Sans with loud demanding mewls.

He already fed this tiny fuzz ball, did it seriously want _more_ food? Just how big is it's stomach?!

The kitten immediately begins to purr as it nears his face, causing Sans to reach forward and attempt to shoo it out. The kitten, thinking Sans is trying to play with it, pounces back towards Sans with its paws raised and claws extended, grabbing his hand bones in its mouth and biting playfully.

"Why do you humans have these small fluffy pets anyways? Is there a benefit?" Undyne queries from atop your bed, reaching down blindly to locate the kitten under the bed. Horrified, Sans shoves the demanding feline towards Undyne's nearing grasp, watching as it seems to give him one last look of betrayal before Undyne fishes it out from under the bed with a chortle. _"Heeyy,_ lint ball."

"They give unconditional love, which is apparently good for people's health. It's Libby's kitten, but she tends to forget to take care of it," Sans hears you say, causing his brow bones to furrow. It's _Libby's_ cat? That's... Actually very odd of Libby to not feed it then. On the other hand, however, with how the cat behaves with _him,_ for all Sans knows, Libby is probably feeding it and then going to Sans for seconds.

Maybe he should stop feeding the thing if that's the case...

... _Nah._ Heh, it's hilarious when it makes those funny "Nyom-nyom" noises as it eats.

Sans covers his mouth to keep from chuckling, listening as Undyne hums in interest over the kitten's mewling. Thank goodness the fuzz ball is up there with Undyne... That thing was totally about to blow his cover! If anything, he should probably leave... He could probably use his teleportation now that you and Undyne aren't on the floor anymore and are likely not going to notice the flash of his eye light.

But he's not ready to leave yet. He wants to listen in a little more.

"Oh, by the way, about that dream you told me about earlier this morning..." You audibly grunt to let Undyne know you're listening, Sans watching as you lift your feet and jump into a pair of what look to be a textured gray-scale pair of sweatpants. Don't sweat it, okay? Greater Dogs gonna take care of Alphys. I trust him, even if he _is_ a goofy oaf for belly rubs," Undyne sounds like she's trying to reassure you of this, but all Sans can do is furrow his brow bones in absolute confusion.

Dreams?

Take care of Alphys?

...What's Alphys got to do with _your_ _dreams?_ You paranoid or something? That's funny... Aren't you supposed to be a racist? Why the heck do you care about Alphys? Especially if it's from something as inconsequential as a dream?

Sans glares daggers at your feet, watching your toes and calves tense as you bring your pants up and proceed to do whatever it is that involves you walking over to the vanity near your dresser. Probably to do your hair and makeup or something.

"Who said I was sweating it?" You snap rudely while Sans continues to pointedly mad-dog your ankles, prompting a snort out of Undyne.

"You were totally sweating it-"

" _No I wasn't!_ Quit being so nosey!" You snap back, only this time Sans is actually surprised, and half amused, at the fact that you sound so childish. What happened to that venomous spit you were just spewing seconds ago?

"No can do, my little _tsundere_ bestie," Undyne laughs, watching as you freeze and turn to face the fish monster.

 **"I am _not_ tsundere,"** Sans covers his mouth to resist laughing. Wow, that's an _awfully_ defensive tone you're using right now... You sound like Undyne has just offended your ancestors rather than merely called you a type of anime stereotype.

"Sure you are," Undyne insists casually, sounding in no way threatened by your change in tone. "You're like this kitten."

There is a soft mewing on the bed, and Undyne snickers lightly to herself at the cat's sound.

"You're all cute and everything, but you put your little claws out at everything like _'Rawr'_ , but in reality, you're just a softie looking for companionship and love in all the wrong places." As Undyne concludes this crazy hypothesis of hers, Sans gives the bed above him a funny look. Is that what she thinks of you?

...

"Get out."

 _"Pff!_ Alright, but hurry your ass up! I'll be in the living room and shit," Undyne laughs loudly as she stands, as if you've got a hilarious look on your face as a result of her teasing. Sans watches as Undyne leaves, the meows of the kitten coming from her arms as you follow behind and shut the door after her.

Sans relaxes a bit, now that it's just you and the crazy fish monster has left. One less thing to worry about. His eye lights follow you as you audibly sigh in relief and walk on over to your bed. Sans doesn't flinch when the bed slightly dips to your weight. From what he felt after picking you up and teleporting you here the other day, you don't weigh much at all, so he's not too surprised...

...He can see your ankles, but soon enough, you pull them up on the bed and seem to get comfortable. You're definitely not about to take a nap or anything, if Undyne's pressing for you to make your time alone quick, so... What are you doing up there?

...

There is a sound of a lock opening, and Sans eye sockets widen a smidgen in realization. Are you opening your diary?

...

The tell-tale sign of a pen scratching against paper makes Sans smirk to himself. Hm, he's _definitely_ gonna give that thing a read before he leaves for his first day of his upcoming morning class.

You're write quickly for a relatively long time, and the longer you take, the more Sans becomes curious about what you're scribbling in your diary. By the sounds of it, he's got a lot of reading to get caught up in.

"Stupid monster," you grumble under your breath, though Sans still catches your words and bristles a little.

 _Stupid human,_ Sans thinks quietly to himself.

...

"Stupid _Sans..."_ You huff as well, prompting Sans to look up and thrust his middle finger up at the bottom of the bed moodily.

_Click!_

You jump off the bed and march back over to your vanity, rustling through a couple of papers and junk before-

"UGH!" You cry out furiously, spinning around on your bare feet and stomping towards your bedroom door. As it swings open, the handle slams loudly against the wall without mercy. "Hey, _fish bitch_! Do you know how to get rid of this goddamn trash tornado?! My keys got sucked in!"

"Not a clue, _flesh glob!_ Trust me, I'd have helped if I knew what to do. Just toss something heavy at it and see if it stops," Undyne calls back from the living room.

 _Yep. That's definitely the way you get rid of it... Momentarily,_ Sans chuckles in the back of his mind as he sees you turn away with footsteps of uncertainty.

You pace around your room to try and find something heavy of use before Undyne walks back in. Although Sans can't see anything but the pair of feet, the noise of appreciation you make catches him off guard. Did Undyne bring something? And why are you suddenly so grateful to her? You didn't sound anything like before, not even when Undyne went and healed you...

"Oh, perfect," you say as you turn to face her, stepping out of her way.

...Also, is Undyne not going to tell you that she just did something personal by healing you? After all, if you could feel some of her emotions... Then Undyne could feel some of _yours_ too. Isn't that a bit invasive of her?

 _Tch. And she had the nerve to call_ me _out for looking in (Name)'s soul..._ Sans can't help but think, giving Undyne's feet a nasty look.

** CRASH! **

"There!" Undyne cackles, allowing you to step over what appears to be an old worn printer machine- a _really_ old bulky one- to pick up your fallen keys.

"Thank you," you say, much to Sans surprise. Huh. If it wasn't for the attitude you were displaying only moments before when Undyne was teasing you, Sans would be fooled to think you were actually a decent human being worth being civil with.

...But yeah, Sans is not an idiot- and you're a total bitch.

Just as he thinks this, the trash tornado kicks into full gear once more, startling you and Undyne just as you're both walking towards the door again. The two of you turn around in time to see the printer being lifted up like it weighs no more than a feather, which Sans only catches sight of beforehand since his vision is limited to about two feet's worth of a vantage point.

 _"Watch out!"_ You bark, visibly ducking enough that Sans spots your iron grip around the strap of Undyne's tank top, yanking her down violently along with you as there is another loud crash of the printer hitting the wall behind you. There's a yowl from the living room- the sound of a certain kitten startled by the loud noise.

Sans can't see where the printer lands exactly, as the bottom of your night table is in the way from where he is, so he keeps his attention focused on both you and Undyne's reactions instead.

As a result, he witnesses something so absurd and out of character that he takes a moment to gape in disbelief at the sight with a twitching eye socket.

You've tugged Undyne a little closer in the process of dragging her down to avoid getting either of you hit by the printer, your eyes squeezed shut. Undyne flinches, but other than being momentarily shaken and dazed by the sudden danger, she just shakes off the incident and looks at your shorter torso. Surprise initially coats her features, but after a second, her jaws soon begin to curl in a smug grin as you carefully open your eyes- only to notice Undyne's proximity and the expression forming on her face.

...

Your face flushes an enraged red of embarrassment.

"D-don't look at me like that! I wasn't worried about _your_ dumb ass!" You suddenly snarl at her face, jumping back a bit and quickly peeling your fingers from around her tank top strap as if it's burnt you. You scramble onto your feet, speed walking out of your room. _"FISH BITCH!"_

Undyne stands up calmly, though she clears her throat before you can bypass the doorway out of your bedroom. "Hey, girlie, aren't you forgetting something?"

You stop and turn to face her, causing Sans to inwardly curse at the fact that his limited vision prevents him from seeing your expression.

"...What?" You question, confusion laced in your harsh query.

Sans raises a brow bone, also confused as to what Undyne is alluding to as you wiggle your toes impatiently against the-

...Oh.

"You planning to go to your class without shoes then?" Undyne continues, her own voice shaking like she's trying not to laugh.

Sans has to keep himself from audibly giggling at your expense.

"...I knew _that,"_ you growl moodily, although it's apparent that you were just about to waltz out barefooted without giving a hoot whatsoever. Which reminds him- weren't you barefooted when you, Papyrus, and Undyne stumbled upon him, Tori, and Frisk? Maybe you have something against shoes...

After shoving your feet in some black flip-flops, you and Undyne quietly make your way out of your bedroom, but not before Sans hears Undyne murmur, "Monster lover..." To which you reply with a snarky, "Fuck you."

Sans waits a couple of minutes until he hears the door to the house shut. After that, he promptly waits a five more minutes... And then crawls out from under the bed, taking a seat on the floor of your bedroom and pulling an arm up to clean the drops of sweat that had built up from the increasing heat of his presence under your bed- as well as the several close calls to being caught while Undyne was in your home.

 _Shit..._ Sans thinks, still reeling over Undyne's behavior- as well as _your_ behavior- when you were around each other. It makes Sans wonder how you act when it's just you and Alphys. Or just you and his brother.

Everything he's seen shows that you vehemently believe yourself to be racist... Your behavior shows that even though you truly _are_ a rude person, you have a side of you soft enough that shows you wouldn't want Undyne to get hurt. As a result of showing that soft side of yourself though, you lash out verbally.

...Sans has to admit- it's not at all how anyone with a desire to want to dust a monster should act. He had this inkling before, but now it's really proving to be noticeable.

 _Speaking of her hidden side..._ Sans stands up and takes a seat on your bed, pulling your diary from its tossed place by your pillow and opening it up. As soon as he flips to the latest entry, he finds an entire page worth of content and settles back comfortably against your pillow to read.

**_ Tuesday: September 14th, 20XX _ **

_ 'This isn't going to be a normal entry at first: I really just need to get the basics of what's been going on down first so that I don't forget. I've been having weird dreams lately in which someone tries to contact me. It's a skeleton monster like Sans and Papyrus, but for whatever reason, their body is half melted and they can't speak properly verbally. For the sake of making things simple, we'll call them **Static** , because that's the only way I can describe the noise they emit when they try to use their voice. The first dream was initially just a voice... I was still in the hospital at the time, and my dream revolved around leaving their care early without Undyne and Alphys knowing. _

Sans narrows his eyes at the admittances of your entry. Dreams about a half melted skeleton monster with the voice of static? That sounds farfetched, yeah, but why would a dream like this be important? It's just a dream. Something the body conjures up in the mind while your body recovers energy on downtime.

_ 'I heard Static following me in my dream, and at this point, I'd yet to see them physically, so naturally I panicked. I ran off to the alleys as a way to try and lose them, but reached a dead end in which... I watched a monster- a small frog monster with a sentient orb in their grasp- get attacked by something else. _

A shiver rattles Sans' bones as he reads, causing the skeleton monster to slowly sit up. The fact that he's feeling uncomfortable is an _understatement_. This is some pretty vivid shit you've recorded. Half of the time Sans has nightmares, he can only nitpick at what's left of his dream. You've managed to successfully describe the events- maybe not the scene, but the _events-_ of a dream you had a few days prior.

 _ 'I know that the thing that attacked the Froggit wasn't Static. I'm not sure how I know it, but that  _ thing _was all **wrong.** It killed the frog monster, but kept it's body from turning entirely into dust and was able to reanimate the monster afterwards. Like, in a creepy Linda Blair way. I couldn't see the thing itself when it attacked the Froggit since it was in the shadows in this dream. That was the end of that specific dream, however, I passed out yesterday while with Undyne and had a second dream. I met Static face to face- and although they can't speak verbally with me, they were able to communicate through this kind of strange sign language... I don't know how I understood it, but I did. I showed it to Undyne and Papyrus when I woke up- and Papyrus told me it was a type of sign language Sans taught him. Called it their "super secret brother language", and that apparently no one else except them know it. He told me he'd ask where Sans learned it, since he's curious as well._

Sans eye sockets widen in disbelief. The super secret sign language him and his brother know? How'd you have a _dream_ about that? He hasn't used that type of sign since Papyrus was still a baby bones and _you're_ a surface dwelling _human._ That makes no sense... But if you've recorded Papyrus confirmation, then it must be true. How can you possibly know it though? That's unfeasible...

Sans shakes off his confusion and looks back down at the diary, scanning its contents to find where he'd left off. He wants to know more about these dreams you're having. He can't really ask you about it without revealing that he's been in your diary... Maybe after his brother comes forward to ask him about their "super secret brother language", but for now, he'll have to get all his answers from your diary.

 _ 'Papyrus confirmed that my understanding of the signs were correct. **"You will help. You were warned. No going back. Remember the time and the place."** As of right now, the three of us have deduced that one of these nights at 3:20 AM, this creature will kill a Froggit at the alley Undyne, Papyrus, and I investigated the day I met Toriel and Frisk. Undyne spoke to King Asgore about my dreams, and even though they're  _ just _dreams- the fact that I've seen something only Papyrus and Sans should be aware of (their brotherly sign language) has prompted King Asgore to take action by rounding up the Froggit monsters and keeping them in his home as well as the Queen's separate place for the next few days. I'm not religious or anything, but I hope to **God** that these things I'm seeing are irrelevant to reality.'_

Sans flips to the next page to see if you've written anything else, but when he is greeted by an empty blank sheet, he closes your diary and sits back once more to meditate on your latest entry.

...

You're trying to save a _monster._

A Froggit at that, one of the smaller monsters that usually get written off as worthless by politicians in regards to monster rights due to their lack of being able to speak and understand communication the same way other monsters can with humans. They're still as intellectual as the bigger monsters, such as himself, just lack the inability to communicate in ways other than soul force.

_...Sleep on it. This isn't something I can just charge into again. I can't let my hunches and inklings get the better of me- Undyne was right about that. Maybe I'll be able to come up with an excuse to give Papyrus that will let me talk to (Name) without her getting so cantankerous at first sight of me. I won't write (Name) off of my list just yet, but at the same time, I also need to look into Libby more._

_..._

_Sheesh, when did my life become so busy again? This is worse than when I had to watch over the kid while he traversed the Underground... But then again, I was totally lazing around on that end too._

Sans rolls onto his side after yanking his mobile out and tinkering with his alarm, settling on your bed carelessly to take a nap where he is. Why waste energy leaving when you're not about to come back?

...

Sans kicks the sheets a bit, messing up your once made bed and folding his arms behind his skull comfortably. Either way, these next few days, he's going to have to keep a closer eye on you. Not just because you're going out on a date with his brother tonight, but because of these dreams you're having.

All the while... He can't help but wonder who the monster in your dream that knows his and Paps 'super secret brother language' is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huehuehue, I liked writing the Greater Dog scene. That guy is a giant armored ball of lovable fluff that not even the hardest of criminals can say "no" to giving a few pats.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the new diary entries~! 'Cause there's sure as SHIT gonna be more! Ain't nothing stopping our bastard of a skelly from finding his answers!
> 
> Links:  
> [Bone Harp And Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	20. Sorry and Whoopee Cushions Don't Cut it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being dropped off at the campus early, you encounter Sans and have a chat with him about recent events between the two of you. In biology class, you spiral further into madness over your stance on monsters when you get a new monster partner for the semester.

Chapter 20: Sorry and Whoopee Cushions Don't Cut it

 

"...And with that, I told Sans he needed to stop being so illogically suspicious of you and so illogically trusting of your friend. I mean, it's only reasonable he gets to know the two of you before he passes judgment like that, especially since he isn't _that_ acquainted with Liberty either! But you know, get to know you two, _without_ looking into your or your friend's soul," Undyne says as she pulls her car into a parking spot, twisting the steering wheel sharply enough to make you vehemently cringe as the vehicle dangerously straightens out perfectly in place despite the heart wrenching speed. Once she puts the truck in park and yanks out the keys, she turns to face you. "So yeah, I don't trust Liberty, but I'm not about to torment her and stuff like Sans was doing to you. Until she gets her act straight though, she's on my list of bitches to fry if I ever become president."

You give her a dry look of annoyance, slouched on the passenger seat in a half-fetal position with both hands still tightly glued on the arm rests of your seat. "Noted," you answer, since you know she's got a bit of a point in regards to your best friend- although you hate to admit it.

"Cool. Anyways, that was the gist of things. I scared Sans a bit, we threatened each other, I made him swear not to stick his nose hole in yours or Liberty's soul, and I sent him on his way without launching a spear into his skull," Undyne finishes, undoing her seatbelt and hopping out of her truck easily. "What are you gonna do while you wait for your class?"

_Of course she's gotta ask that..._

"I'm going to take a nap before class starts. I was waiting up for you to get back last night. Sleep may have won me over, but I'm still tired," you answer after a moment of mulling over whether you wanted to reply or not.

"Alright... If you have another dream or just need anything in general-" Undyne snatches your phone out of your pocket as she rounds the truck when you open the door, easily bypassing using the code of your screen lock and tinkering around with it while you sling your backpack over your shoulder. "I've added my number and email to your contacts, as well as Asgore's and Alphys' information."

Undyne opens up your contacts list and hands you your phone, watching as your eyebrows lift and your lips twist with the resistance to not smile when you start scrolling to the three new names and information added. Undyne visibly smirks just out of your line of sight, looking quite satisfied with her work.

**Captain Fish Bitch: (247) 343-2132 / StrgFish91@Under.net**

**Mew Mew Alphy-Cutie: (247) 212-5224 / RoyalSciAlphys01@Under.net**

**King Fluffybuns: (776) 689-9769 / AsgoreDreemurr22@Under.net**

"(Name)." You look up from the phone to face Undyne, just as she claps both hands down on your shoulders roughly enough that you're sure you'll get bruises, meeting your gaze head on. "Promise me that you'll message us if you have another dream. Even if it seems like something inconsequential- at least let _me_ know anyways, just like you did with the dream about Alphys. Okay?"

You don't even hesitate to nod. "I promise..." You answer, since you know at this point- after seeing those Froggit lining into Asgore's place- things are getting just a little _too_ accurate for what you've been seeing to be just 'dreams'. Of course, you can't help but still hope, right? Maybe you're over thinking things and your brain is making connections where there aren't any to make.

Undyne pulls back with a blinding grin. "Good! I'll see you around then. You deserve some time for yourself since you're going on that date with Papyrus later, after all~!" Undyne cackles, just before saluting you and darting off past you speedily. Your hair flies back with the force of her sudden speed, and you turn to see her charging towards another human that appears to have stopped in his walk to gawk in horror at fish monster that is now closing in on him. "HEY, **PUNK,** YOU'RE IN MY GYM CLASS, AREN'T YA?!"

Poor guy looks petrified for a moment, but soon turns away to round a building corner and run for his life.

Hm. A wise decision.

_Well, it's a little past nine. Undyne's barely going to make it to her class, but I have forty-five minutes till mine..._

You wander off past a couple of the buildings around campus in thought, fiddling with the hem of your thick short sleeved crop top as you walk. Today will be an extra busy day for you.

First off, you have your Biology class for the first time since you got kidnapped- so you have a lot to catch up on. Lucky for you, both the lecture and lab was cancelled around monsters were first allowed to explore on campus, so you've only missed the two sessions this last week that you were in the hospital. This week is when monsters first attend their classes, and all things considered, you're fortunate enough to have a very understanding pair of teachers.

After an email explaining a few things, both the lecture professor and the lab professor have asked you to bring a few things to prove your admittance into the hospital, but appear understanding of your situation and are willing to extend the time in which you turn in the work you missed.

Secondly, you have so many unanswered emails from students overflowing your inbox. As a student leader, it's your job to reply to as many of those as you can to make sure their needs as students are accommodated for when the other leaders and school staff are busy. It's the reason you decided to apply as one- because you yourself were unsatisfied with the lack of sufficient aids to give you advice. As a result, you searched for information yourself and shared it with as many other students as possible.

 _It always feels like it's easier to talk to someone when I'm focused on giving them something helpful rather than bothering them with small talk..._ You think, giving a small sigh as you round a corner to your designated classroom. Of course, there's nobody from your class there yet since it's so early, so you look around at the nearly empty hall and plop down a few feet away from the classroom against a wall. You tug your back pack off and hold it in your lap as you bring your knees closer, using it to rest your arms and head on.

Third, and the most important part of the day, you have that date with Papyrus that you're hoping will flop so you can...

...

You frown and clutch your backpack closer to yourself, huffing in annoyance.

What? What's wrong with you? You can't possibly be having second thoughts...

...

A small growl rips out of your throat as you lift a hand to run your fingers through your hair. You're frustrated, and the reminder that you forgot to grab a ponytail because you were so pissed off at Undyne hangs heavy around you like the curtain of black locks currently tickling the sides of your face and neck.

Tch, that dumb fish bitch is all muscle, she could have taken that printer to her face without even blinking- why did you jump in and yank her out of the way like that? Like... Like you _cared?_

Now here you are, wondering if you really want this date to screw up enough for Papyrus to not want to be around you... And _no,_ you haven't gotten a spontaneous urge to suddenly date him _for real._   It's not like anything has really changed, he's still annoying! He's still the same stupid skeleton that thinks he's got a brain in that empty, optimistic skull of his!

...Yes, that's right. Nothing has changed. He's a monster and you're a human.

 _They_ are monsters and _you_ are a human.

That date needs to fail.

After all, if it doesn't fail, you'll be stuck getting followed and threatened by Sans the Skele- _dump_ for the rest of your life. You haven't used that one already, have you...? Nah. Anyways, you don't really want to be stalked by said skele- _dump_ , do you? Obviously not.

As you think through all your options and fight these oddball emotions you're having, you begin to feel your muscles loosening and relaxing under the weight of your exhaustion, which begs for you to close your eyes for a moment.

 _I'm probably only thinking this way because I'm tired. After a quick nap, I'm sure I'll be back to my regular self,_ you think, just as you allow your eyes to drift shut and begin your soundless slumber in the school hallway.

* * *

...

...

**_Mr-ow..._ **

Sans lifts an arm to pull his hood over his face and block out the light, rolling over when something gently tickles the side of his face.

**_Mrr-ow...!_ **

Something jumps on Sans' side in an attempt to get his attention, but due to the fact that there is an empty space between his hipbones and his rib cage (obviously from being a skeleton), the thing that lands on him falls through under its weight on Sans' jacket. Spines poke through Sans' jacket in the attacker's pannick, causing the sharp points to jab into Sans' sensitive spine.

 _"AH!"_ Sans yelps loudly in surprise, sitting up abruptly with his left eye flaring a sinister blue glow of alarm as he looks around for the source of his unpleasant awakening. He's ready to dunk on somebody- and his thoughts immediately jump to _you_ as he swings his head around.

...But you're not there. Sans' isn't too deep of a sleeper- even though it may seem like he is- and knows he would have woken to the sound of human feet. He registers through his daze that he definitely heard a noise before he'd fully woken up, but his subconscious didn't initially take it as anything dangerous enough to warrant him an awakening.

So then who...?

"Mrrr-ow!"

Sans looks down on his lap to see a familiar brown and white kitten staring back belly up at him, once again seemingly unaware that his blue eye clearly means "danger". As soon as the skeleton realizes what exactly happened, he lets out a short laugh of amusement and reaches back to scratch his skull in amusement.

 _"Mrrr-ow!"_ The kitten meows, causing Sans to reach down and pick it up carefully. As the blue light in his left eye settles down to its usual dull white glow, he brings the kitten up so they're face to face.

"Are you sure you've got a belly? Or is it just an empty void in there?" Sans chuckles using his other hand to prod at the cat's stomach gently. The small kitten promptly squirms in his grip as he does so, and before Sans knows it, the feline is jumping out of his hold and off of the bed. When it pauses at the doorway and takes a seat to conveniently stare at Sans with slightly squinted eyes, the skeleton rolls his eye lights. "Of _course_ you're hungry."

Rather than listen to its continued meows, however, Sans focuses his attention on finding his phone- which is not in his pocket as it usually is. Confused, the monster sits up and starts to look around. He's half surprised when he realizes he's in your room, but soon recalls earlier events and laughs to himself again to resume his search.

Seems like no one has come in during the thirty or so minutes he's been napping, but he can't help but notice that the door, which had initially been left wide open when he decided to pass out, has been pushed to leave only a crack open for the kitten to have squirmed through. The issue with this is that he's absolutely sure he didn't shut the door at all. After you left with Undyne, you two didn't bother to close it and Sans himself was too lazy to put any effort to get up or use his magic to do so before his nap.

So in that case... Who shut the door?

_Maybe Libby stopped by? Nah, she said she'd be working from seven thirty in the morning to two in the afternoon. And I doubt she'd even stop by during break, the bank is kind of far from here._

With a little mental deduction, Sans decides to blame the wind for the door's closing. It's likely that it was just a strong breeze, after all, your window _is_ open as well.

...Actually, was that window always open?

Sans halts his efforts to find his phone and quickly gets up off of the bed, and begins walking through yours and Libby's house. A quick scan of every nook and cranny in the house and Sans soon finds himself in the middle of the living room scratching his skull again.

No one is here. This house is as empty as can be- save for the kitten that's following him from room to room curiously, trying to gauge whether Sans will feed it some extra chow.

 _It's probably all in my head- what am I getting so worked up for?_ Sans wonders with a soft laugh under his breath, looking towards your bedroom to try and find his smart phone again.

** Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! **

Sans jerks violently and his left eye flashes blue in astonishment, making him spin around to face your bedroom...

...Where he can see his smart phone glowing and vibrating wildly under your bed, likely having been pushed off the bed while he was sleeping.

At that, Sans' cheekbones flush an brilliant blue with embarrassment, and he waves off his magic with a dry expression to approach the bed with a grumble of distaste at his idiocy. When Sans gets down and fishes it out from under, he shoots the device a leer of annoyance as he stands.

That's when he notices something wrong with the phone. The alarm time doesn't match the _actual_ current time displayed at the top right corner.

He quickly unlocks his phone and opens up the alarm application, shutting the alarm off and raising a single brow bone in confusion. There it is. It says the alarm was set up 9:40... But the current time says that it's only 9:30.

Which means his alarm went off ten minutes before it's designated time. As in it just started loudly vibrating randomly at the precise moment Sans was looking for his smart phone.

 _Why...?_ Sans wonders in confusion about the oddity displayed on the glass screen, staring at the smart phone dumbly for a minute or two.

...It's likely just a glitch in the system that made it go off early. After all, he only got it for fifty bucks at a pawn shop along with his brother's.

Maybe he should consider getting a better functioning smart phone if it's gonna pull stuff like this and end up waking him early. At least the kitten was the one that accidentally woke him up this time... _That_ he can understand. It's a gluttonous cat and it wants food. A phone that goes off ten minutes early for the sole purpose of wrecking his naptime? Unacceptable.

Sans sighs and shakes his head in exasperation. He's too moody to deal with his dumb mobile device at the moment, but he might as well head home and grab his stuff for class since he's awake anyways. There's no time for another nap...

Not that he's particularly excited for his class or anything, but at least it gives him something to do. Besides, it can't be too bad. It's a science class, and if there's anything Sans loves more than his brother and puns, it's _science._

Ignoring the kitten that continues to walk after him, Sans blips back into his home with ease, half startling a tall skeleton currently running around their kitchen restlessly to organize the place. It actually looks pretty clean now. Props to Pap for the work.

It'd be a darn shame if... Someone were to mess it up.

"SANS! Why are you here?! You should already be at your class right now! Are you slacking off again?! College is not the same as manning posts in the Underground, Brother!" Papyrus hollers in frustration at the sight of Sans by their room doors, nearly falling off a step stool he's using to get to the sink he modified so he can wash dishes. "And do not just appear into existence so suddenly like that!"

"Sorry bro. I would have called, but I was too lazy to turn on my _tele-bone_ ," Sans comments, watching as Papyrus eye sockets twitch in disgust.

"LEAVE," Papyrus huffs, resuming his dish washing as Sans chuckles and shuffles to his room with a huge grin plastered to his face. His mood has drastically improved after seeing his brother. Torturing Paps with puns is just one of his favorite things to do during the day... Well, besides building his sock collection.

Before Sans completely enters his room, he deposits a sock in a corner of the main room while his brother isn't looking, holding in his laughter as he steps into the messy disaster zone that is his bedroom.

As soon as Sans has his textbook, a notebook, and a pencil thrown inside of his plain backpack, he goes to let Papyrus know he's leaving. Just as the skeleton monster starts to head for his bedroom door however, he hears a screeched _'NYEEEHH!'_ of absolute disdain and nearly falls over in his attempts to keep his laughter down.

On second thought, he'll just send Papyrus a text after he gets to class...

Sans blips out of his room and into the hallway where his class is located, grinning in satisfaction when he finds himself standing in front of his classroom door. It's a damn good thing he had that Alan kid show him where it was yesterday. That's a good-natured guy if he's ever seen one. Sure, there's just that annoying bit that he's human, but even Sans has to admit that he's got a pure green soul of kindness, with a wispy hint of patience added into the mixture for a good reason. That boy is practically a saint in all regards.

Sans just has to wonder, however... Why the hell does he consider _you_ a friend? You're nothing like him, you're a total b-

...

_No. You can't judge her before you get to know her better. Stop having thoughts like these, you promised Undyne you'd give her a chance before you gave a verdict._

Sans exhales heavily, moving to wait beside the classroom door for the rest of his classmates as well as the professor to arrive. There are only three other people around, two girls on the other end of the hall messing around with their phones and peeking curious glances up at Sans as he leans back against a wall, and one girl with her head down against her knees as she...

...Wait.

Sans shifts away from the wall and kneels down beside the figure with a studious leer of curiosity, lifting a hand with uncertainty... Before he brushes the girl's curtain of wavy black curls out of her sleeping face. He can hear the texting girls on the other side of the hall beginning to chat away with each other in hushed voices, and he knows they're talking about him since they keep pointing in his direction out of the corner of his eye sockets. He doesn't really give a hoot about whatever they're talking about in regards to him.

Because the girl snoozing away by the classroom door is _you._

Sans wonders how lucky he must be to have been placed in your class- which gives him plenty of time to keep an eye on you and study your behavior without having to make an excuse to get Papyrus to convince you to approach him. He can literally just speak to you right now and patch his mess up!

First... He has to wake you up though.

* * *

 

You're cold. You're not sure why, but it's _freezing_ wherever you are... Not that it's all that unpleasant actually, but through your observations you find that your eyes are closed.

So you open them.

Much to your surprise, there is a deep intimidating blackness beneath you that you're gently drifting down towards in the water around you. At the panic of drifting all the way down to the unknown, you let loose an array of bubbles in your panic and look up to try and swim back to the surface. You can see the glow of moonlight streaking through the water in one small area, the rest of the area a dully lit darkness. Although it's dark around there as well, it's nothing in comparison to the light sucking void trying to claim you from below.

You try to swim up, but don't advance no matter how much you kick and move your arms.

There's something missing- something you should have that would allow you to reach the surface... But you don't have it.

And so you give up.

You stare up at the distorted light of the moon as you sink down, getting further and further away. Inky darkness pulls you down, until all that you see is a black void of emptiness. Where are you? How did you get there?

Your feet gently make contact with wet mud, toes curling curiously as you steady yourself in the water and immediately curl up at the bottom nervously. You can't swim up... You can probably walk around, but you're too scared of what you could step on or run into. What if you touch an animal? What if you stub your toe on a rock?

...You're okay right here. Nothing is happening, but you're safe. Nothing will hurt you if you stay right here. You don't have to do anything. Everything will just move around you. You're not obligated to go anywhere and the only place you really want to go up to is the surface again, but... This isn't so bad. You can stay down here. It's cold, but it's not a bad kind of cold. It's comforting.

You can stay down here.

You're safe right here.

You don't have to go anywhere.

...

**_ PPPBBBBBBBBTTTHHHH!! _**

* * *

 

You jolt awake violently with your heart in your throat, falling over onto your side in your flail of panic as your blurry eyes search for danger in your vicinity. Wait, where even _are_ you? Everything is so bright...

There's a deep voice laughing to your left much to your horror, and you hurry to clear your eyes with your hands until you're able to turn and see if the voice of the person you're hearing is really the jack ass you _think_ it is.

It is.

Standing right next to your collapsed body is Sans the Skele- _shit_ , laughing hard enough that a blue liquid reminiscent of human tears begins to collect at the corner of one of his sockets. He wipes it away as he grabs a hold of his giggles, meeting your scowl with barely any sign of irritation.

 _Ugh! GREAT! What's_ he _doing here?!_ You wonder, staring up at him with contempt as you crane your neck to see him from where you're sitting.

"Hey, sweet tart," he greets you with a single infuriating wink of his right eye socket, before his eye lights flick over to something across the hall from you.

 _He's awfully cheery this morning for being such a lazy asshat,_ you note dryly as you follow his gaze curiously, only to find two girls from your class standing on the opposite side - both blatantly staring at you and Sans much to both your relief and annoyance.

Sure, them being there will likely prevent Sans from attacking you or heckling you anymore if he feels like it... But from the way they're staring, they look like the kind of girls that _eat up_ drama when they see it. No need for someone like those two to listen in and study you and Sans- that would just lead to a bunch of shit in your case considering you're a student leader.

Sans eye lights return to you move to stand up, leaving your backpack on the ground where you see Sans has deposited his own things.

 **'I want to talk for a second,'** Sans suddenly signs once you're up, causing you to blink at him dubiously. Talk? Or threaten you? Because those are two _very_ different things- neither of which you want to do, mind you. Sans must notice the look on your face, because he then quickly signs, **'At least listen, please?'**

You hate him. Why would you want to listen to someone who's made the last two days and nights absolute hell for you? ...Well, other than the threats and the fact that he's an ass, he's just _really_ annoying. He's even more aggravating that Papyrus- and that's saying something!

...

 **'Fine. Get on with it,'** you sign with an irritated huff as you watch his expression shift slightly with satisfaction. What's he up to...?

Sans' eye lights flick back over to the opposite end of the hall when there's a sound of a scoff, causing your eyes to trail after his to see the two girls shooting you and Sans irritated glares. You raise an eyebrow at them in inquiry, watching as one rolls her eyes in reply and turns to pointedly face her friend.

"People who can hear shouldn't know sign language. That's for the _deaf_ ," the girl with the most attitude comments to her friend, who in turn nods firmly in agreement at her classmate's words. It's obvious that she wanted you and Sans to hear her, but rather than look shamed, your eyes squint at them in utter disbelief. They... Don't seem very smart. All the while, Sans looks like he just stepped into the twilight zone himself, eye lights dim and eye sockets half lidded in confusion.

Nevertheless, the two of you brush it off and you face Sans to hear out what he has to say. Unsurprisingly, now that you're both vaguely aware of the two hawk-eyed girls watching you, Sans continues the one-sided conversation in sign.

**'I owe you a massive apology. More than just an apology, actually. I admit I went overboard and with the threats, locking you out of Undyne's place, purposefully getting on your nerves in general, and for asking to see your soul. I was out of line in all aspects and I jumped to conclusions without even trying to get to know you. All I wanted to do was to get answers quickly to protect my brother and his friends- but I acknowledge that I didn't handle things well and that it's no excuse for how I treated you.'**

As you read his signs, your original aggravation slowly begins to wane and decrease... Until all that's left is discomfort. You're having those strange feelings again.

Understanding _. Sympathy._ You absolutely loath it.

 **'I'm not asking for us to be friends, because I know you still hate monsters. I'm also not asking that you forgive me. I just want to apologize and let you know I won't bug you anymore. I'm sorry,'** Sans finishes signing, lowering his hands and shoving them in his blue jacket pockets as he waits for you to respond with anything.

Half of you wants to just grab your backpack and walk away. The other half, however, thinks this is too fishy of an apology to treat so tactlessly. He sounds sorry for a few things... But not all of them, and you can feel it.

For one, he's not sorry about getting on your nerves, which is totally irritating- but you understand this because it appears to be a part of his overall annoying personality. You've seen him openly irritating Undyne and Papyrus already, so it's definitely something he wouldn't likely be sorry for if that's one of his sources of entertainment.

Another thing he's not sorry for is asking to see your soul. That one _really_ bugs you, especially after Alphys pointed out what he might have meant to do.

 **'Why did you want to see my soul if you can see souls without pulling them out of people's bodies?'** I question suspiciously, watching like a hawk as Sans pulls his skeletal hands out again.

 **'I can't see your soul through your body. It was all blurry whenever I tried to look at it. I figured if you pulled it out, I'd be able to clearly see if you had LOVE or EXP,'** Sans explains, watching you as you nod to him in understanding. You can't tell if he's lying about this one... It's likely that you'll never really know if he's just saying that to cover up the fact that he couldn't get your soul out and attempt to kill you.

So the verdict is: Sans isn't all to serious about his overall apology, but if you plainly ignore his apology altogether and walk away, he's likely just going to continue harassing you as a result. You'd best make your side of this conversation clear if you don't this chat to go sour.

You lock eyes with Sans again, ignoring the chatter of the regrouping students as they start to huddle in front of the classroom door and around the two of you.

 **'I don't forgive you,'** you plainly sign, much to Sans' shock if the surprise that momentarily flits across his features say anything. Despite his claim of not expecting you to forgive him, he must not have realized that it was likely you _wouldn't_ forgive him. After all those threats and the harassment, he really expected you to accept his apology? **'However, I guess I understand a little. Also, yes, I would very much be grateful if you stopped harassing me and threatening me at every given opportunity.'**

After that, you lower your hands and wait on Sans' move- either to get mad, get sassy, or get murdery. You're really hoping against that last one though, considering how _done_ you are with him. If this answer doesn't save you, however, it's likely that there's nothing else that will save you from harassment or murder as a result...

...

 **'Fair enough. Truce?'** Sans signs in agreement after a moment of absorbing your words, holding a hand out towards you with that wide grin of his stretched across his face. You can already picture what he's attempting to do, and rather than take his palm, you first slide your fingers along the outer part of his palm to flip his hand over. Sans seems to flinch in surprise at the unexpected contact of your touch along the opposite side of his metacarpals, but you ignore it to stare dryly at him when you uncover the pink whoopee cushion taped to the inside of his bony hands. The monster appears flustered by your discovery, and you watch his cheekbones stain a light shade of blue as a result.

Before Sans can utter a word of apology, you peel the deranged fool's toy off of his palm with your left hand and then place your right hand in his, giving it a shake in confirmation.

Following this, with the most apathetic expression to ever grace your face, you then pick up your backpack from the ground and move to walk past him, slapping the taped end of the whoopee cushion against his forehead so the item lets out that annoying farting sound as you relocate into the classroom, which students are now beginning to flood into.

You think you hear him chuckling to himself behind you at your actions, but you choose to ignore it since you're still reasonably irritated with him. He's going to have to do a little better than a measly apology to ever get you to forgive him for his behavior with you the past two days.

Like, for example, _not_ being a monster.

"New students please stand at the front and wait until the rest of the class is seated," Professor Anastar, the biology lecturer, says from the desk at the front as you make your way to your usual spot near the center of the room. There are desks set up with two seats per table, and much to your dismay, there's already someone sitting in the usually empty spot next to your seat. You've never seen him before, so he must be someone that got an add code while you were out.

This guy has broad shoulders and an ash blonde shade of short  hair, bright brown eyes staring in your direction as you try to ignore his glued gaze on you.

You feel a shudder of intense discomfort as he looks up at you and gives you a big grin when you slide into your seat next to him. He looks rather pleased to see that you sit next to him, and you're not sure how you should feel about that.

Damn, you shouldn't have taken your car that day- as it was the thing that totally made you arrive late to begin with. See, on the first lab day, your other biology professor, Professor Dane, paired everyone up with the people the students sat next to. Unfortunately, at the time, traffic made you late and the last to take a seat. With the uneven amount of students, you were unable to get a partner.

Well... Looks like you have one now.

"Hey, are you (Name)?" He immediately asks as soon as you sit down, scooting his chair closer to yours. Bad vibes travel up your spine as you turn to face him, reluctant to show that he's making you uncomfortable. You really don't want to talk but you also don't want to come off as rude since you're a student leader, so you just give him a quiet nod. Much to your dismay, your lack of verbal communication doesn't seem to put him off, and he rests an elbow on the desk as he meets your gaze unflinchingly, the muscle of his arms tensing as he props his head up on his hand. "When the lab professor said _you_ were likely going to be my partner, I didn't think you'd end up being _this_ cute."

You know what this new student is trying to do, but your cheeks dust red anyways, prompting you to look away and into your back pack as you fish out your notebook and pencil. You hear him laugh a little, but resist the urge to look up at him in your flustered and half annoyed state.

 _Who is he?! He didn't even introduce himself! Stop trying to flirt with me!_ You bark in your head, only to hear the sound of the professor clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. _THANK YOU!_

"Okay, students! Today, after a lengthy conversation with Professor Dane, we're going to be mixing things up a little, so please bear with me," she says, much to your relief. Now you don't have to look back at the creepy guy next to you!

Sure, he's a good looking guy, but let's face it, you and everyone else (well, at least in your head) knows that nobody can compete with Alan in terms of being the perfect guy.

"We have three new monster students today, and as you all know, it's very different up here on the surface for them, so instead of letting them finish off pairing with one another, we'd like for them to pair up with a human each for the rest of the semester- just to help them along with the class regulations and get them accustomed to class etiquette up here," Professor Anastar explains, making your eyes flick over to the three...

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh... _Fuck!_

Standing in the middle between a floating monster that appears to be a flexing seahorse-like monster with well built abs and biceps and a petite feminine white furred rabbit monster is Sans the Skele- _piss,_ grinning straight at you with the flipping pink whoopee cushion of his still attached to his forehead where you left it. Is he so lazy that he can't even take the thing off?! And... Why is he staring at you like that?

"Would anyone like to volunteer to host one of our new students? If you need to exchange partners as well, now's the time to do it. We're allowing you the freedom to choose this semester only, so consider yourselves lucky, students," Professor Anastar says, watching as students begin to converse...

You watch as Sans inches his way towards the professor with a casual smile, just as your new partner inches closer towards you while the students change partners with each other to be with their friends. The hairs on the back of your neck prickle with unease, and this time you don't turn to face him.

"You're not going to switch me out, are you?" He huffs lowly next to you, causing your skin to crawl suddenly. That... Sounded like a warning.

In mere seconds, you feel yourself plunged back in the horrid memories of what transpired back when that good looking guy had opened the trunk of his fiat to find you meddling with your smart phone. The same fear you felt finding his predatory gaze harden when he saw you trying to call for help becomes apparent in this moment as you sit in your seat. This guy is giving you the same vibes that _other_ man gave you, as well as the vibes Sans gave you when threatening to 'dunk' on you if you tried to hurt his brother and his friends.

 _Danger_.

This is someone you don't want to be stuck having to converse with and visit to get projects for class done.

You want to raise your hand now. You'd take _anything,_ even a monster, over reliving that nightmare. Even if this guy isn't dangerous and you're just overreacting, the fact that he still activates those memories is enough for you to want someone else as a partner. He's so close though... And you're too scared to lift your hand. What if he forces it down? What if he touches you?

 _I don't want this...!_ You think nervously, shivering and leaning slightly away from him as your gaze continues sliding away from the monsters and to the surface of the table in front of you- where you have your notebooks neatly laid out. If only divine intervention could just happen this _one_ time...!

"...OH, you know (Name)? Okay, that's perfectly fine! You can pair up with her then if she's comfortable with it."

You look up to the sound of the Professor saying your name, meeting her gaze as she looks away from Sans to face you. The whoopee cushion once on his forehead has now vanishes as he glances towards you, giving you a wink. This one isn't one of the usual sarcastic winks he usually gives you, so...?

Your eyes flick towards the left to see your current optional partner glaring at Sans pointedly, as if trying to get the skeleton monster to take back whatever he said to the Professor. Sans doesn't seem too bothered by the glare, since he's staring at you and not your deskmate.

 _Is Sans trying to help me out of being this guy's partner?_ You think in confusion, watching the guy next to you attempt to calm himself down now that he sees you can leave with just a simple confirmation. Honestly, you don't know what to think about Sans' actions, and you also don't know if you want to irritate the guy next to you by agreeing off the bat.

"(Name), would you like to be partners with Sans here?" Professor Anastar asks with a charming grin, gesturing down to Sans, who is much shorter than her tall 5'10 height or so. Sans shrugs beside her, as if saying he's just giving you the option and that you don't have to take it.

 _...It would just make it easier for him to bug me though,_ you think, just as you see the guy next to you shift in his seat, causing your eyes to look at him again as you try to come up with a decision. Which is better? Torture from a monster? Or torture from another human?

You don't like either option...

Much to your surprise, the guy next to you is suspiciously grinning in one of the other monster's direction, and out of curiosity, your eyes follow his gaze over to the female rabbit at the other end of the monster lineup, who is looking back at him nervously. Her expression is stiff with discomfort and her ears, bound together at the top of her head with a lime green ribbon, are slightly tilted back, the lavender long sleeved tee she's wearing rising up and down in a quickened pace over her chest.

Your decision is locked in immediately, and you open your mouth before you process your words.

"N-no!" You stutter, watching as the professor gives you a curious look of confusion at your rejection to be Sans' partner. Even Sans looks a little surprised, but before the guy next to you can cheer and celebrate, you point to the rabbit monster. "I'll be _her_ partner... I see Sans often and he can get advice from me anytime. He's better off meeting more people since he already knows me."

The rabbit monster visibly relaxes and sends you a small grateful smile, while the guy next to you turns to look at you with an expression of pure annoyance. He must know you've seen through his charming exterior... He's revealed enough of his rotten interior to be unable to trick you into thinking he's a good guy like Alan is. You were right to trust your gut instinct.

"Alright then, that's fair. You and Betsy can sit up at this front desk here," Professor Anastar agrees, pointing to an empty table at the top left side of the classroom, where you immediately relocate to with the rabbit monster and both sit down.

 _Why... Did I do that?_ You wonder, biting your lip in thought.

You know exactly why. You're reluctant to admit it, but you were worried for that rabbit monster. She looked absolutely petrified at your previous partner's gaze- and there was _nothing_ benevolent about the way he was staring at her.

You likely would have agreed to be Sans partner, if you hadn't noticed the rabbit's expression and demeanor...

But you couldn't help yourself.

 You're still reeling over the bad vibes that were rolling off of that student, and the idea of letting anyone else go through what you went through _that_ night... It left you uneasy. You couldn't leave the rabbit to the wolf.

"Okay, so anyone else want to be partners with a monster?" Professor Anastar queries, just as a hand from the desk behind you goes up.

"Ooo, ooh! I will! I can partner with the cool skeleton!" The chestnut haired girl from the desk behind you, known by your classmates as 'Hyper Girl', jumps at the opportunity, hand outstretched all the way up as she waves at Sans brightly.

"Cool," Sans merely comments, casually making his way on over to her bubbly direction as the guy once seated next to her moves to the desk you previously occupied with an expression of pure blissful relief crossing his features. He looks like a man experiencing freedom for the first time... Hyper Girl isn't _that_ hyper, is she?

As he passes your table, Sans makes eye contact and seems to give you a curious stare, before he vanishes out of your line of sight to sit at the table end directly behind you. Well, he's still sitting close, but at least he's not your partner... What was with that look though?

Before you can wonder about that, someone else seems to have raised their hand to accept the seahorse monster as their partner, and you turn your head towards the human in question to see who it is. Midst your curious eyes, you notice the color of their shirt is a nice glazed magenta pink, contrasting most of the dark colors and shades (besides bunny girl's lavender clothing) the rest of the class is wearing.

It's a nice color. It looks like the kind of color the night sky makes just as the sun goes down, staining the sky a reddish-purple color... Your favorite time of the day. You've always found that color so comforting. It's always been a reminder of how beautiful the world could be, especially watching it expand over the ocean near the bay.

It's so familiar and comforting...

...

And then it hits you.

Your eyes widen in remembrance, and you sit up as straight as an arrow in your seat as the familiarity branches past _just_ being the color of your favorite time of day.

_That's it! THAT'S THE COLOR OF THE FROG MONSTER'S ORB! MAGENTA PINK!_

You yank out your smart phone under the desk and furiously type out your news in a text to Undyne, making sure to put your phone on an easy vibrate setting so it makes as little noise as possible when receiving a message.

 _'Undyne, I remember what color the orb of the endangered Froggit is! It's a magenta pink! Did you round up a Froggit with that color of an orb with Toriel? I know Asgore isn't housing one with that color, I remember they were different colors at his place.'_ You send without hesitation, tucking the phone on your lap as you look up to see Professor Anastar going through the basics for the monsters, to help get them caught up as efficiently and easily as possible. You don't pay attention much as a result, too wrapped up in your thoughts about the Froggit to worry about listening to the professor. It's not anything meant for you anyways...

** Bzt... **

You look down at your phone, opening your new text.

_'I'll text Toriel and ask, 'cause I don't remember. She probably won't be able to answer until three though, she's a teacher at an elementary school she opened up for monsters and humans.'_

Undyne, damn it, you had ONE JOB!

 _'As long as it's before 3:20 AM, we should be okay, but maybe you should visit her school during recess to ask,'_ you text back quickly, just as the professor is starting to end her introduction welcoming the new monster students.

You missed everything. Hopefully nothing important was said...

** Bzzt... **

_'Okay, bossy pants, I hear ya. Btw, this health class is so easy it's boooorring!'_

Reading this, you roll your eyes. Figures she can bounce from business to tomfoolery so quickly like that...

 _'At least Sans isn't in your class. He apologized, but I don't really buy it. He only seems half-sorry,'_ you text back and send, before realizing that you're flipping doing that _thing_ again.

Being _friendly_ with a monster.

You switch your phone to silent as the professor gets started with the lesson, refocusing on class once more.

"Um..." A voice next to you starts, gathering your attention as you turn to face the rabbit monster beside you curiously. She looks shy but holds out a hand towards you when you look at her. "Thanks for being my partner. I'm Betsy!"

Your eyes trail down to her furry outstretched hand, and your heart twitches. You don't want to shake her hand. If you do, those weird feelings you have... They'll only grow stronger. You're positive that it will make things worse.

You don't want to feel this way. You're safe if you don't let anyone in. You don't have to accept them. You can be with just Libby and... Maybe Alan. You won't get hurt if you refuse them. You not obligated to be nice to them. They can just move around you. It's not so bad being alone most of the time... It can be lonely, but it's oftentimes comforting.

You can stay alone.

You're safe by yourself.

You don't have to accept them into your life.

...

Your hand takes Betsy's anyways, and you're momentarily awed to feel the smooth silkiness of her paw as you shake her hand gently. She seems like she takes great care of her fur, if her organized style in clothing and accessories is anything to go by.

"I'm (Name)," you greet the monster, even giving her a small smile despite the turmoil inside your mind. You're so confused... Do you hate monsters or do you not? This should be simple... It shouldn't be this hard for you to decide.

All the while, at the table behind you, you're completely unaware of Sans studious gaze on you, watching the expressions that cross your features as he rests his skull on his arms over the table lazily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BONUS: 
> 
> Undyne dryly glances down at her text messages as she takes a sip from her water container, only to nearly spit take when she reads the first line. 
> 
> 'At least Sans isn't in your class.'
> 
> Undyne scowls at the message, the jagged points of her front teeth digging into her lower lip. So she should consider herself lucky, eh?
> 
> "Hey, Undy... Ah-CHOO!"
> 
> Undyne flinches in disgust as a monster in the desk beside her lets out a sneeze without covering their mouth, causing her eye to widen as some of the nastiness spots her 16-pixel graphic phone from Alphys. She turns her head to look at the monster speaking to her- the one that hasn't shut up since they arrived- her single golden right eye twitching as she faces them.
> 
> A disk shaped monster with wide separated eyes and a lump shaped forehead that makes them appear like a UFO with arms and legs stares back at her, wiping the dots from their own phone.
> 
> "You getting any internet? The Wi-Fi sucks here..." The monster comments, while Undyne just blankly looks forward at her phone again in torment.
> 
> 'Bitch, whoever's in your class, you don't know how lucky you are to not be stuck in a class with JERRY.'
> 
> "Ah... Ah-CHOO!" 
> 
> Undyne hits send and flinches again, letting out a furious groan of rage and slamming her arms and face down against her desk, along with the other students seated around the annoying monster known as Jerry.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> There ya go, Chapter 20 and a Bonus scene! :P It's almost Valentines Day~! Hope ya'll either have fun with your hubbies, or you have fun by yourself eating pizza and enjoying the solo life! ...Unless you have a precious pet like my kitty Dexter.
> 
> Then make your pet your precious Valentine :3
> 
> Links:  
> [Boing Apple Pete Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	21. One Leg Over the Fence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your actions speak louder than your words, and Sans learns there's more to you than meets the eye

Chapter 21: One Leg Over the Fence

 

Things feel a little weird, to say in the least. You swear up and down that you can feel this unwavering intense gaze drilling into the back of your head whenever Betsy Bunswick (shockingly, that is her legal name) quietly asks you something pertaining to the class.

You're quite certain that this has to be Sans- as when you sneak a peek back over at that creepy guy you'd nearly been stuck with, you can see he's busy trying to balance his pencil on the table by its eraser. Of course, you can't be _too_ sure it's Sans, and although you want to turn around to check, you resist the urge.

What if he _isn't_ looking at you and then you just suddenly look back at him out of the blue? That would be so weird...  You two are barely on talking terms (can you _even_ call it "talking terms"?) after the shit storm he caused thinking you're a murderer. Hey, it's likely that he still believes it too, the dumb wanker. Thank goodness Alphys already knows you're not- what with being the only one to have seen your soul.

Either way, you don't want to look back to see if he's staring. Too risky. Besides, you _hate it_ when he makes eye contact with you and either glares or gives you one of those annoying sarcastic winks.

Sans the stupid Skele- _scat..._

You'd rather stick your arm in a meat grinder than play into his little mind games.

And yes, you're still pretty sour over his actions. Maybe even more so after his apology, because now he wants to make an effort to be _"nice"._ Or does he really? What if he only said that to get closer to you so he could gather more intel on why you're such a bad human?

Ugh, it's a damn good thing you told him you didn't forgive him. Also, it's good that you were so conce... Er, _merciful,_ towards Betsy Bunswick and her situation. Or else, you'd have played completely into his hands with playing _"nice"_ as well as being his biology lab partner.

** Snap! **

You snap out of your musings as the led to your pencil snaps for the seventh time that hour and a half, quickly clicking back some more of the gray material to the point and commencing your furious scribbling as Professor Anastar slides into a diagram for the subject material. She tends to swap slides very quickly, but you're relatively good at keeping up and getting all the notes down- even if they turn up all sloppy in the beginning. You can organize them later...

The sound of papers, backpack zippers, and wrinkling fabric fills the classroom as the large hand of the clock hanging on the wall of the classroom to your left nears the thirty minute mark

"Alright, so don't forget to study for the quiz on chapters two and three for next Tuesday! And for you newbies, you will be meeting the class in the room across the hall for lab on Thursdays. If you've got any questions, you can come up here as ask me anything. There are lab hours noted at the top of the syllabus up here, so make sure you grab one on your way out if you don't already have one. You're dismissed!" Professor Anastar announces, prompting most of the students to jump out of their seats and power walk in a large pack towards the exit. You take your time putting your things away, along with a few students including Betsy as you go through your daytime schedule one more time in your head.

Class was let out early, so you can probably grab something to eat at the cafeteria before you meet up with Papyrus and BP in the library to finish getting them caught up with CIS class material... After that, you can probably get some more leadership work done and meet with a few students before your date with Papyrus tonight.

You need to call Undyne later to see if she's figured out whether that magenta froggit is in Toriel's care... and maybe you can go swim around the pier to your favorite cove and soak up some of the ocean water again. Since you've been so busy with recent events like getting kidnapped and stuck in the hospital, you haven't had the chance to go swimming for a while- and that Druella woman walking in that morning after her crazy cliff diving antics completely slammed into you had a dose of jealousy pumping through your system.

You don't want to cliff dive- no, that kind of activity is just downright crazy and you're no adrenaline junkie. Besides, you've seen how far down people fall when they jump there, and you're not brave enough for that kind of thrill. Sure, it _sounds_ cool... But what if you land in the water wrong? What if you panic and hurt yourself? What if those people are just lucky enough to not hit any rocks under the water?

...Okay, plain and simple, you're a big chicken is all. But chicken or not, you aren't about to fling yourself off any cliffs if you can help it.

Swimming out to the cove is enough for you to enjoy your ocean- what with the water being so cold in the area that sharks tend to visit the area. Sharks rarely attack people here, even though great whites and tiger sharks tend to pass through this area frequently. Your guess is that the plentiful supply of seals and sea leopards- as well as gulls that stray too close to them from above water is enough to sate their hunger from attacking humans. The rare attacks have been more of curious shark nibbles more than actual attempts at eating a person.

_Alright, time to-_

A soft gasp escapes Betsy from beside you, and you blink in surprise when you feel her link an paw around the sleeve of your shirt in mild alarm. Surprised at how quickly she registers a notably quiet human like you as "safe", you turn to see what startled her... And immediately find that creep from earlier standing by your table.

Your eyes flick towards the front desk where Professor Anastar usually sits, but it looks like she's already left the classroom. Looks like this creeper chose the perfect opportunity to attack.

"Hey, so your name is _Betsy,_ right? That's a sweet name," the creeper speaks up as he starts to step closer than normal to the rabbit monster, causing Betsy to inch towards you slightly when he begins to invade her space. "Are you free right now? I know a place down town with the best Chinese food arou-"

"She's _busy,"_ you spit out a little more viciously than intended as you swing Betsy to your other side and use your body as a barrier from the guy attempting to ask her out. You have all your things packed, and with that, you immediately urge the rabbit monster out of the classroom, looking back once she's out to make sure this guy isn't about to follow the two of you.

It's not like you think him asking the rabbit monster out is nefarious or annoying, it's the _way_ this guy does it that completely aggravates you. From the look on his face when he was staring at her during the beginning of class to the way he spoke to you when he was asking if you'd switch out from being his partner, this guy is _fully aware_ he's made you and Betsy uncomfortable. That is _unacceptable._

It's not something someone ought to be doing to anybody.

As you're turning, you see the guy steps from pursuing  after you and Betsy, until someone appears seemingly out of _nowhere,_ even though you were sure they were just sitting moments before in the seat behind you- head tucked in their arms as they snoozed through the end of class.

As soon as you see Sans teleport in front of the creeper's path, you round the doorway and pause. Sensing your hesitation, Betsy halts as well to look back at you in confusion just a few steps ahead of where you stand near the classroom entrance.

Half of you wants to listen in to see what Sans does in a scenario like this- or if he's fully aware of what exactly this guy is trying to do with Betsy- but one glance at Betsy's expression of discomfort pushes you to relent and continue on after her. The fact that she doesn't even need to say anything to invoke such empathetic feelings inside of your heart confuses you.

You refuse to admit it because you don't believe it, but...

Say you _are_ finally starting to grow warmer towards monsters. Let's say you're actually using monster racism as an excuse to keep monsters at arm's length, and using other means to distance yourself from humans as well. Let's assume this excuse of hating monsters is finally beginning to thaw that icy structure in your heart.

Why though? Why _only_ monsters? You've been distant with other humans for so long before- and you've _never_ had a problem of questioning your beliefs or choices in dealing with them.

If you're ever confronted by someone attempting to converse or be friends, you have no problem more or less shooing them away or ditching them without a second thought.

Doing this to a monster though... Proves a lot more difficult. You don't know why, but it scares you. Are they using magic to make you feel this way? Are these emotions towards them even real?

...

Whatever. You need to grab something to eat and text Papyrus that you'll be on your way there soo-

-!!

You pause to cough into the bend of your arm, your throat tensing and straining with slight pain until you find relief. Betsy herself stops when she hears your cough, stepping closer in concern. "Are you okay, (Name)?" She inquires, placing a paw on your shoulder until you look up and massage your throat to make sure everything is okay.

 _That's weird... Am I coming down with something?_ You wonder, before nodding to her and smiling awkwardly after you register the pain to have vanished. Your throat hadn't hurt earlier when you first woke up, and you haven't felt anything else pertaining to flu-like symptoms. Maybe you're just tired from overexerting yourself socially? That's a thing, right? Having your energy drained from trying to keep up with energetic people and one aggravating murdery skeleton?

"Okay. You want to grab something from the cafeteria with me? I'm a bit nervous about eating alone... It'd be nice to have a new friend accompany me if you have the time. U-unless you're not interested in being friends, that's okay too, um... But I'd like to be friends if that's okay? I mean..." Betsy starts to babble nervously, prompting you to stare silently as she tries to make her words come out properly. Her ears are beginning to pin back against her head the more she blurts out, but at this point you're not really listening to her anymore.

You're busy asking yourself what you'll be doing to yourself if you keep accepting things like these from monsters... Especially a request like this one.

Are you going to be her friend?

"...We should probably get to the cafeteria soon then. I only have fifteen minutes before I'm meeting some classmates in the library to get them caught up with class work," you find yourself interrupting her mess of words after a second, watching her face light up and her long ears springing up in glee as you accept her offer and start walking next to her again. You didn't explicitly _say_ you would be her friend, so it's not like you mean anything by saying you'll accompany her to the cafeteria to grab some food...

Of course, even _you_ know that there's no way you can escape the implications of your acceptance. Whether you mean it or not, said it explicitly or not said anything at all, Betsy is likely to think that you're okay with being her friend. Not like it's your fault she's assuming it... You don't really have to do anything, do you? It's not like she's about to attach herself to your hip or anything... At least not like Undyne and Papyrus have done already.

You feel a gaze on your back and look over your shoulder when Betsy starts talking again, her words sounding a lot less flustered now that the two of you have gotten over that little chat over "friendship".

When you find Sans leaning against the wall a couple meters away and make eye contact with him, you flinch slightly. Betsy is none the wiser, but Sans' eye lights flick over to her and back to you with a questioning stare that makes your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. For some reason, being spotted walking side by side with another monster- one that likely wouldn't be as pushy or insistent on being your friend like Undyne or his brother would if you said "No" to them- makes you feel like he's caught you with your hand in the cookie jar. His gaze is curious, like he's seen something out of the ordinary.

Rather than allow him to continue staring at you like that, you shoot him a snooty glare and turn your head away to continue listening to Betsy, turning a corner with her much to your relief. Hopefully Sans doesn't start following you, but honestly, you wouldn't put it past him considering his current track record.

"...That guy mentioned something called Chinese food? Is that different from regular food?" Betsy's curious query snaps you back to reality, and you fix the drawstrings of your backpack as you answer her.

"It's not too different... Just has different preparation styles and originates mostly from a country in the Eastern hemisphere of the world. They sell some food in the cafeteria based on the way they cook things in China if you want to try some," you reply, while shooting another glance over your shoulder in case Sans is following.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like he is.

 _Yeah, your bony ass better not be following us,_ you think, tuning in to Betsy's chatter as you walk through the halls towards the building exit.

For a while through the building, that's really all you do- only humming and speaking up shortly whenever prompted to. Mostly, the walk is relatively calm and easy going... But then you notice something odd with the people the two of you pass by.

During your walk, now that you're not looking out for Sans, you come to notice quite a few humans in the area giving you looks that range from uneasy to moderately disgusted, which frankly irritates you when you catch them staring and they don't bother to stop. Half of you wants to snap at them to stop, but your much meeker side appears to have take the helm of dominance at the moment. You're not fired up enough to make an argument, so you do nothing other than stare back whenever you make eye contact with someone bold enough to stare.

It's only until you pass a certain hallway that you notice a poster hanging over one of the classroom doors.

...A poster for an _Anti-Monster Club._

You nearly stumble when you see the poster logo, which reads: _"Shove them back under the mountain"._ Shocked but unwilling to point it out to Betsy, you exit the building without saying anything to her, losing yourself to your thoughts once more. You keep one ear on Betsy though, intently listening for anything you need to show recognition towards.

 _There's an Anti-Monster Club? Here? In_ this _sappy college that always pushes equality on the entire spectrum?_ _Who let the school allow such a club like that to exist?_ _That's horrible!_

...

_Yet I myself was saying monsters should go back to their mountain just a day or two ago..._

For a moment, you find yourself mildly disgusted with you behavior. You're _still_ claiming you don't like monsters, after all, so doesn't that make you the same as those people in that club? The thought makes your stomach churn for some reason, and you bite your lip as you hum to something Betsy comments on in regards to the campus' nice environment. Somehow, that Anti-Monster club poster has sullied the mostly pretty campus...

 _I should find a way to shut it down. I'll talk to the other leaders and see if we can do something to have it shut down. Gotta use my student body abilities for_ something, _might as well be that. Monsters are already being attacked like that one unknown one that BP was talking about. No need to add to the headcount by allowing things like_ that _on this campus._

You assure yourself that this doesn't mean you're entirely over the fence yet, but... You're beginning to _consider_ getting one leg over that border.

**_~...nnnmmmmmmm...~_ **

"...? Do you hear that?" You ask, stopping Betsy's chatter as you look around for the source of a hum that gently tickles your ears, causing her to blink in confusion as she angles both ears around in rotation curiously.

"Hm? Hear what?" She inquires curiously, watching you spin around slowly to find the origin of the sound.

"It's like... Singing... Or humming's more like it, actually," you reply, scanning the outdoors for any students maybe playing with speakers or something. Nothing that could possibly make this kind of sound catches your eye, and when you look back at Betsy, she appears conflicted as she searches for the sound with her ears. It's strange, with ears like  _that_ she'd definitely be able to hear the noise, right? So why does it look like she isn't hearing anything?

"I'm sorry (Name), I can't hear anything like that. Maybe it's just your ears ringing?" She suggests, just as the humming begins to fade away in your ears- like smoke in the wind as you stand there for a moment to try and listen for it again.

...

No, it's gone now. You can't hear it anymore... Betsy's probably right, it was probably just your ears ringing...

"...Never mind, let's keep going," you say, falling into step once more beside her.

* * *

 

"You can't take a hint, can you?" Sans inquires with his lazy grin, looking up at the much taller human male glaring down at his shorter frame. Size wise, this guy could likely slam Sans into a pile of dust with little effort... But magic wise, Sans definitely has the upper hand. This guy has to get close to attack Sans first, and with Sans' type of magic, he likely would get kebabed before he even tried to move in.

Considering the likelihood of his demise being so low, Sans has no problem getting in his way when you pull Betsy Bunswick out of the classroom. He's incredibly puzzled as to why you became so vicious when this guy was so clearly bothering Betsy this time and not you, but decidedly faces the initial problem head on before he jumps to any other conclusions. He doesn't want any repeats of having to apologize to you awkwardly...

"Dude, mind your own business. I'm _just_ trying to ask her out. Don't you monsters ask people out or what?" The guy defends dryly, puffing his chest as he towers over Sans. Although most other guys would attempt to puff up in the same way challengingly, Sans merely stares up with his lazy grin, shrugging with little effort.

"Sure we do. But when we ask someone out, we try to do it in a way that doesn't  make them uncomfortable. Hate to break it to you, but shoving yourself in someone's personal space isn't the way you ask someone out..." Sans decides to be somewhat civil, though he's on the brink of getting _real_ nasty with this human.

"What does someone like _you_ know? I doubt any girls would be hanging in your bed with that face," the guy snorts, but soon grows annoyed when Sans' expression doesn't change.

"Hm. So are you thinking about having a relationship with Betsy, or are you more interested in getting yourself in her pants?" Sans boldly asks, causing the guy to roll his eyes.

"You're a dude, too. What do _you_ think? We got to get our release _somehow,"_ the creepy guy comments, causing Sans eye lights to vanish suddenly, prompting the human to jump back slightly in alarm.

 ** _"Frankly, I think you should watch your mouth before you go comparing yourself to me,"_ ** Sans answers slowly, watching the human attempt to keep his mask of indifference on. He can't help but grin a smidgen wider at the man's clearly failing efforts. Eventually, his eye lights reappear in his eye sockets. "Listen, if you know what's good for you... You won't bug those two anymore."

The guy appears offended by Sans' words, and gives him a disdainful glare. "(Name) too?! What are you, their body guard or something?"

Sans raises a single brow bone at the human, as if challenging him to keep talking. "I owe (Name). I've been a shit to her for the last two days. As for Betsy, she's from my home town underground, and I've known her family for a long time now. It's simple, quit bothering them with your creepiness, and if you don't... You don't wanna know."

Sans left eye light flashes that blue-gold color for a second, prompting the man to hesitate before huffing furiously and walking around Sans with a reluctant grumble of acceptance, turning the opposite way the girls had.

...

Once the guy is out, Sans lets out a breath of relief. He wasn't too sure how it would turn out in the endgame... Thankfully, nothing bad like a fight broke out.

 _You're lucky I stuck my head out for you, "Miss Human"..._ Sans thinks to himself, glaring at his backpack on his desk as he pulls it over one shoulder and begins to exit the classroom. As he leaves... He's met with the oddest sight in the world, and stops to watch with interest when he sees you and Betsy standing a couple meters away down the hall.

Betsy is saying something and you're rubbing your throat... Are you sick or something? Sans' has no idea, but leans against the wall to watch, looking back to make sure that creepy guy hasn't changed his mind and returned to try and find them.

When Sans looks back, Betsy's ears are starting to shift back anxiously, but it appears as if she's the only one speaking. Immediately, Sans narrows his eyes on you suspiciously. Did you say something to her? That would be pretty cruel considering you were only recently warding off that creepy guy in the classroom off of her tail (which is still very confusing to Sans, considering you dislike monsters. Why bother going out of your way to keep the human male from approaching her?).

At first, Sans figured you only picked Betsy as your semester partner so you wouldn't be stuck as his partner or Creeper's partner. Following what he saw as you helped Betsy escape the man attempting to persuade her on a "date" (honestly, Sans is sure that's not what was on the human's mind), Sans immediately realized what you were doing.

He feels like the more of this side of you he sees, the less Libby's claims about you being so hateful towards monsters makes sense. From the beginning, Sans has to admit the one who'd been the most hateful was he himself.

Kind of makes him feel a little more guilty.

Sans stares with interest as Betsy's ears pop up and her expression flashes with joy following some words from you. He wonders what you've said that's made her so happy, until he sees you begin to fall into step with her, heading down the hall further from him in an easy pace of speed. You two look like you're... _Friends._

You glance back.

Sans tenses up slightly, but does a great job in not showing it when the two of you make eye contact. Considering he's been caught, Sans looks at Betsy and then back to you, shooting you an inquisitive look at the way the two of you walk side by side. Like magic, your cheeks stain red with obvious embarrassment, and for a second Sans doesn't get why... Until you snootily glare back and turn away quickly to speed up your leg pace around a corner. Betsy doesn't seem to notice, and easily keeps up with your movement.

Once you're gone, Sans can't help but snort a little in amusement. That look on your face...

That looks like the expression of someone caught doing something they ought to _not_ be doing. The fact that Sans has an idea of why you look so defensive following his questioning glance only makes him want to laugh even more, but he restrains himself since the few human students in the hall are giving him funny looks. Best not to scare the humans any more than he already does with being a skeleton, eh?

He pulls out his phone with a grin, opening the messages app and quickly entering a thread he has with his brother.

_'youll never guess whos in my biology class Pap'._

As soon as he hits send, he almost immediately regrets mentioning something like that to his brother. Maybe it's best that he keeps the fact that you're in his class a secret from his brother and Undyne... Who knows what they'd do if they knew that the two of you were to be around each other twice a week. What if Undyne decides to barge in during classes unannounced? What if his bother decides to try and get an add code so that you're not left alone with him? As naive as Papyrus is, even _he_ knows you shouldn't be alone in a class with the lazy skeleton, and said lazy skeleton doesn't want to ruin his chances learning more about you.

You may not be a monster hater like Libby said...

But with those dreams of yours, you're still worth keeping an eye on if you do so happen to have some kind of importance towards monsters.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter this time! This entire week has been majorly hectic for me and I couldn't find much time to immerse myself in the story to belt out another long chapter... Also, next week there might not be an update because I am going on vacation before school starts! No idea where I'm headed (likely to Oregon), but there's a high chance that I won't be near wifi. I'll still type out another chapter, but it might not be uploaded until the following Friday.
> 
> I hope this chapter is enough to quell your insatiable hunger for events! I might go back and edit it tomorrow, but I am literally dead tired at the moment...
> 
> So... Thanks for reading! 0w0
> 
> P.S. as a way of updating you readers on stuff about the story or upload times, do you guys think that maybe I should join the "Make a Tumblr for the Story" club? I've been thinking about it, for a while, but I'm still not sure... I think I'll leave it up to you guys :P
> 
> P.S.S. I made one!  
> [Bonk At The Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)


	22. Weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Libby daydreams about Sans during work hours. You appear to be getting ill, but don't let it stop you from skipping tutoring time or asking for a raincheck on the date. On the other hand, Sans is officially a stalker.

Chapter 22: Weakness

Liberty Sterling lets out a long sigh as she stares at the unmoving rotating doors of the bank entrance, clicking the back of her pen against the tabletop behind her at a slow rhythmic pace. She's rather depressed after the last night of watching movies with Sans and Papyrus- mostly _Papyrus_ actually.

Sans had unfortunately only stuck around for one movie before he had to attend his late nine at night Astronomy class, a class of his Libby was never told of before she had planned the movie night.

It'd have been nice to have gotten a heads up on that- especially since he brought his brother along when she'd only invited _Sans_ _himself_ over to watch a few movies. Not that Libby dislikes Papyrus- far from it, he's such a sweet heart.

But Libby had been hoping for a _different_ kind of atmosphere that night, one which Papyrus could not have provided even if he tried.

Because Libby isn't attracted to Papyrus... She's attracted to Sans. And she's getting to a point in which she's starting to grow tired over his inaction on the matter. He must know she reciprocates by now, right? After all... She _did_ put her hand over his during the movie discreetly in a way that his brother, too engrossed in the film, wouldn't notice. Heck, she's been dropping so many hints _already!_

Brushing her arm against his, standing close to him whenever possible, linking her arm with his and complimenting him all of the time... She's good at flirting, that's for sure. In fact, she considers herself well versed in the art of the language of love, something which she takes pride in knowing you can't one-up her with.

The guys that do _like_ you tend to want to come forward out of the simple infatuation of how you hold yourself. You don’t look like a dangerous person, per say, but you certainly don’t look approachable. Libby figures it’s got to do with the challenge they will face in trying to take you to bed, and so she always deals with the boys bold enough to try and chase after you. She’s always done it- both to protect you and out of fear of losing you to someone else like a boyfriend.

Of course, she’s never let you _know_ about it. How could she? It would look really bad on Libby if you found out. Libby herself reasons that it would make better sense for it to be _you_ that ought to choose who to date- since those boys would be dating you, _not_ Libby.

…But Libby does it anyways, and she always does it before they can even make their meaningless existence known to you.

Unapproachable, but alluring… At least, that's how Libby would describe you. According to Papyrus from last night's movie spiel, however, you appear to be doing a lot better with monsters now. While there, Sans snorted and abruptly disagreed, saying you, quote unquote, still have a few **bones to pick** with monsters.

Papyrus said his brother was overreacting because he doesn’t know anything about you, though Libby has to wonder... How well does _Papyrus_ know you if he's saying that to his brother? Surely he can't know you _that_ well, you've only known him for a brief period of time- and a drastically shorter amount of time compared to the years and years of Libby having known you.

Libby thinks that if what Papyrus says is _actually_ true, then it’s great you’re becoming a warmer towards monsters. She can’t help but have her doubts, considering she’s spent months trying to convince you with no results, while Papyrus and that horrible fish monster that she definitely doesn’t like has only spent about two days with you…

Or have you spent more time with them than she's assumed? Undyne _was_ the one to take you to the hospital and everything after finding you, but Libby highly doubts she visited you while you were at the hospital… Hell, Libby herself was far too huffy to visit you, having been furious over your petulant attitude to damage yourself further so rashly _just_ to be seen by the doctor sooner. She’d even talked to your doctor, and he made it very clear to you that you weren’t even _near_ dying! You _overreacted_. It was just a stab wound, and it missed all your important organs! ...Not that Libby is well versed with medical issues or things of the sort, but she trusts that doctor's judgment. He didn't pull that PH.D out of a dumpster- he knows what he's talking about.

Anyways, based on the fact that you barely know Undyne, it's not likely that she could get you to change your horrible racist thought process. After all, Libby is practically your only friend.

Oh. She went on a tangent there… Back to the main reason why she’s so frustrated and tired.

**_Sans._ **

That much shorter skeleton hadn't shown a sign of noticing Libby’s advances, yet he hadn’t attempted to pull his hand back either... Perhaps he's so comfortable around her that he doesn't find her hand over his as anything new? When he stood up to leave, she'd been confused and wondered if he was rejecting her, but then he mentioned about his night class and teleported out without warning. All he did was give her a smile and 'later'ed before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Needless to say, it left Libby utterly frazzled.

First, she invites him- _implying_ it's for a _more than friends_ type of invitation, and then he brings his brother along... And when she makes a small move and he barely, _if not at all,_ notices- he just leaves like that? Abandoning his brother for her to baby sit?!

Oh, and better yet, Papyrus had to spend the night- and asked her to read him a _bedtime story._

Now, Libby thinks he's adorable and everything, but reading him a bedtime story- an obvious adult skeleton likely stuck with a child's mind- made her feel _incredibly_ awkward. According to the tall skeleton, Sans reads to him _"Peek-A-Boo With Fluffy Bunny"_ nearly every night.

...Libby had no idea how to respond to that at the time, (though she shouldn't have been so surprised considering how much he loves playing with his action figures) and just gave him a stiff smile before finishing up her reading and excusing herself to sleep in your room- since you were out for whatever reason or another.  You sent Libby a text about spending the night with someone else, although you were totally vague on who it was or what you were doing with them...

Although it irritates Libby to hear that you’re hanging around someone else more than making an effort to fix the issue between Libby, that's another concern for another time. Hopefully that someone you're with is a monster- preferably one _other_ than Undyne.

So, the issue is **_Sans_** \- namely his obliviousness towards Libby's generous hints towards her crush on him. Unfortunately, like most male humans, Libby has deduced that Sans is also just as thick skulled (ha) as human men. Likely has to do with him being male...

Libby would stand for that no longer. As soon as an opportunity presents itself... She's going to say it to _his_ face instead, rather than sit there twiddling her thumbs and waiting for the lazy skeleton himself to make a move. Although it's possibly the reason why he's taking so long to admit his own feelings (which Libby is _sure_ he has for her), she can't help but admire just how inactive he is towards telling her. That's some award winning laziness he has, that's for sure.

...On the bright side, she _did_ have the single greatest dream a girl could ever have while under the spell of sleep.

A dream of herself. A dream of Sans.

A dream of unspeakable... _sensual... arousing_ acts... Like-

** Shhhl! **

The sound of the rotating door finally moving to someone's force has Libby sitting up and plastering a fake smile to her face as a pair of painfully dressed tourists (she knows they aren't from around there just by the way they hold themselves. They appear to look like people from the big city, the woman beside the man wearing high fashion clothing in terrible taste clearly for just its price.

Libby has to use every atom in her being not to cringe and let out a noise of disgust at the sight of the primary colors of red, blue and yellow, splattered "tastefully" (read: _bullshit_ ) over the poofy oversized sleeves of the pencil dress this visiting woman wears. On the woman's feet are pointed, kitten heeled glossy black slippers that look far more fit to be worn by a traditional witch.

Her male companion is no different, wearing an awful pure white suit, including his shiny-enough-to-blind-you shoes and white tie. Hell, his black _hair_ has frosted white tips, and he wears white rimmed sunglasses to top things off.

They look like they're made of money... The classic "stuck up" playboy and his wife or girlfriend born into money- not needing to work hard for the fortune and assets that Libby, her family, and all of the rich residents in Ebott Creek have to work to earn.

But Libby figures she can deal with them since her family definitely has _way_ more money if things get out of hand.

"Welcome!" (Smile, smile) "How can I help you two?" Libby queries with masterfully practiced cheerfulness, standing in front of the doors as they approach her.

"We have had an issue with our account since we landed in this _dingy_ place, and we want to know why we can't access our funds when we know we have _plenty_ of cash in our cards from this bank. _Three point five million,_ to be exact. It can't have just disappeared- our flights to the Bahamas and to Paris weren't _that_ expensive. I don't know what kind of scheme this shit bank is pulling, but it's NOT FUNNY," the woman snaps as she marches up to Libby, stabbing a perfectly bedazzled and manicured pointed claw against Libby's chest, causing discomfort at her sternum from the pressure.

"Miss, I'm very sorry to hear that!" (Smile, smile) "I believe it's likely got to do with your bank card more than your bank account, and-" Libby begins with practiced patience.

"I want this dealt with _immediately._ Or I am calling my lawyer. As soon as I get my funds, I am switching banks. This is the second time we've had an issue in this low rate dump!" She huffs, before turning away from the tall blonde attempting to keep her smile affixed to her face midst the irritation this woman brings within her. "Which office is yours? I've already wasted my time using cash to pay cab fare to this dumb man with the stupidest mustache in all of history..."

Libby nods stiffly, before gesturing to an office in the furthest most corner of the building.

"My office is right in there, Miss." (Smile, smile) "I will be _right_ behind you! I just have to grab some files of yours from the computer in the manager's office. What might be your name?"

The woman turns back to look at Libby in confusion at her words, but eventually rolls her eyes and shrugs it off. "Sandra Lane De La Cruz," she answers, much to Libby's relief as she turns to get to the manager's office. Before she's entirely out of earshot however, Libby catches the woman mutter _"dumb bitch"_ towards her male companion, before sourly chuckling afterward. "I just want my money."

Libby rolls her own eyes, allowing her blinding smile to drop into a snarl of discontent as she enters the office and walks up to a computer, leaning over past the chair to begin typing the woman's name in a specific browser on the internet.

Libby's eyes flick past a couple of lines of bank information and text, before someone else walks in and makes a sympathetic whine. "I'm sorry you have to deal with such nasty customers, babe," a woman, one Libby audibly recognizes as one of the other rich residents of Ebott Creek, Elizabeth Richards, originally from the main family line of Goldbloom.

There are four diverse rich family lines here, that have been around for quite a long while in history.

The Sterlings- Libby's family and ancestral heritage the most prestigious of the four families...

The Goldblooms- Elizabeth's original family line, regardless of the surrender of her family name when she got married...

And finally, the last two families are the Silverods and the Northwoods.

Out of all four families- including her own- the Goldblooms are the family she gets along with the best. It likely has to do with how close the Sterlings and Goldblooms are, what with both families holding the highest respect out of the four.

“Are you going to need any help with them?” Elizabeth queries, walking on over and placing her hands along Libby’s back to give her tensed shoulders a comforting rub down that makes Libby sigh in relief.

“I might take you up on that offer… The lady looks like she’s going to be a handful,” Libby huffs, turning after a minute of the massage to face her smiling friend. “We’d better get going, they're an impatient pair.”

Elizabeth nods, following the taller blonde out when she turns to lead her to the corner office of the Sterling’s family owned bank. Libby runs a hand through her hair to make her appearance a bit more acceptable, tinkering with a few items in her skirt pocket.

She likes working at the bank and dealing with money and numbers since it’s easy enough for her to grasp… It’s just dealing with issues like _these_ that really irks her. Luckily, she’s glad to have Elizabeth there to help her out.

Libby knows you’ve asked her dad for a job at this bank as well, considering he’s your legal guardian and Libby already works there with Elizabeth. It’s an easy snag of a job, you’re a part of the family, right? Why _wouldn’t_ you get a job here?

Well, it’s quite simple, Libby’s father doesn’t _want_ you working there. It’s a family-only kind of thing. And by family only, that means only those people born into the four prestigious families are permitted to work at the Sterling Banks.

Not that you aren’t aware of that, but you’re trying anyways. Libby can’t help but pity your position… She herself tried to convince her father to let you work at the bank with her, but the stubborn old man wouldn’t budge.

Well… Maybe it’s for the best that you didn’t work there after all.

“Hello again! Sorry to keep you two waiting!” (Smile, smile) “I decided to bring a friend to help out with your  situation,” Libby greets the two sitting in the office chairs, the woman leaning forward and picking at Libby’s personal items scattered across the desktop in front of them much to Libby’s internal irritation.

“Ugh. Took you long enough, Malibu Barbie,” the woman quips as she stands up, facing Libby and her friend.

“I apologize… I promise we will do our best to help you with your dissatisfaction in any way we can!” Libby turns to face Elizabeth, smiling at her just a smidgen wider. “Elizabeth, would you be a doll and get the door?”

Elizabeth returns Libby’s grin with a dainty little smirk of her own, spinning around to close the glass door and then pull the dark curtain on the inside of the office to conceal the business that commences within Libby’s office station.

* * *

"…? Hey, little buddy, are you even listening?"

…

…?

"Hello, Earth to (Name)...?" A tangy furred paw moves in your line of sight, snapping their fingers (paw beans?) in your face until you straighten up and shift your gaze up to find BP looking down at you with a leer of mild confusion and obvious annoyance.

"I'm sorry, what?" You ask, giving him your undivided attention now that you aren't spacing off or thinking about the heaviness of your limbs at the current moment. You're exhausted for some reason, though most of you doesn't believe it could still be from having stayed up late waiting for Undyne. You were doing just fine in class earlier- what's got you so wrung out right now?

"Miss Human, you appear to be a bit paler than usual. Are you perhaps coming down with one of those human illnesses that you've told me about before?" Papyrus inquires from your other side, prompting you to run your hands down your face with a sigh.

"No, I'm just tired is all, I guess..." You wave off the tall skeleton's concern before looking back down at the pages of material left to cover with the two, gently slapping your face on either side and attempting to wake yourself up before you end up falling asleep then and there.

To make matters worse, your throat hurts- like it's dry or something. So yeah, maybe you're coming down with something... But you're not about to tell Papyrus or BP that. You're here to help them with class material and nothing more- this meeting has nothing to do with bonding or friendship.

Psh. Like you'd want to be friends with _them…_ Admittedly, you refuse to go out of your way to be rude or discourteous to them, but that doesn’t mean you’re about to slap friendship bracelets on each of their wrists.

"You look like you could use a nap," BP states, eyeing your face once your focus returns to class work.

"No, naps are atrocious! My brother naps all of the time, especially about seven to eight hours every night!" Papyrus complains in a low voice, eye sockets wide as he throws his arms up in frustration when BP's expression twists about with confusion.

"...Bud, that's called 'sleeping'," BP responds with an even tone of dry amusement, watching as Papyrus' face strains with comical disbelief and rage.

"You too?!" He demands a little too loudly, causing the cat monster to evidently snicker.

"Papyrus, weren't you sleeping too during the sleep-over the other night though...?" You question before you can stop yourself, watching Papyrus shift his eye sockets about quickly in unease- like you've just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Resisting the urge to smile since you can feel someone staring at your face (and don't want anyone to think you  _like_ monsters yet since you're still currently undecided about them), you and BP wait for Papyrus to explain himself.

"W-well! I was merely playing along with the rest of you slothful bunch! It was merely an exception I couldn't bear to be left out of! After all, friends bond by doing things together!" Papyrus proclaims, oblivious to the look you and BP share as he strikes a pose. "This includes lazy habits like my brother's, but I assure you it won't happen again! I am a skeleton with  _standards,_ and that means one-hundred percent of energy _one-hundred percent of the time! ..._ As in I don't nap! Or participate in such activities like this 'sleeping' you speak of!"

Your eyes almost bug out in disbelief, but instead of hiding the look, you just leave it pasted to your face.  _Papyrus doesn't sleep?!_

...

You shoot BP an inquisitive look. "Is not sleeping a  _normal_ thing for you monsters?" You ask the cat monster quietly, watching his right ear pivot in your direction to listen. At your question, the cat monster gives you a disturbed look of unease, fixing his black sweatshirt as you lean in for him to whisper in your ear discreetly.

"Absolutely not- we need sleep as much as any other living creature. He's just _weird_..." BP answers, making you nod in understanding as you look back up at Papyrus, who was making more poses midst your quick conversation with BP.

"So where does your energy come from then...?" You question, looking him up and down curiously. He doesn't look even a  _little_ tired... Could he be lying? Or is he really just that much of an energetic ball of magic power?

"SPAGHETTI!" He proclaims a tad bit too loudly, causing you and BP to flinch and then glance towards the librarian that immediately jumps to shush your group.

Rather than let her so blatantly scold only _your_ group (especially when there other even noisier humans in the vicinity clearly playing hide and seek rather than doing actual class work), you shoot her the nastiest glare in your arsenal. It's pretty damn irritating that you're all getting hushed so frequently _,_ when there are even louder students horsing around and running around the library unchastened.

 _It’s like this damn lady just has it out for monsters! Doesn’t she have anything_ better _to do with her time?!_

Looking rather offended and shaken by your sharpened glare, the woman turns her chair away to work where she can't see your pointed leer focused on her. You hope she can feel the burn of your gaze as she gives you her back though.

 _Yeah, that's what I thought,_ you think as you straighten your back up with pride, looking back down at the course work and then gesturing to Papyrus' and BP's notes when you realize they’ve both missed the same important key term in the chapter.

"You're missing this vocabulary word," you comment, pointing to your textbook and looking up to make eye contact with the two.

To your surprise, both BP and Papyrus are staring at you with peculiar expressions etched across their features. Confused by their staring, you raise a single eyebrow at them in question and wait for one of the two to say something that will explain the looks they're giving you. You even glance behind you in case they’re staring at someone or something entirely different, but by the looks of it, they are _definitely_ staring at you.

…

Ten seconds pass and so far neither make an attempt to say anything. At that point, you’ve had enough of their dillydallying and shoot the pair irritated glowers.

"What are you two staring at me like that for? I don't have all day, let's get back to work," you stress, grabbing the nearest monster, BP, by his shoulders and forcibly pushing him down to sit at the seat next to where you're standing. He initially appears startled by your sudden grabby hands, and you try not to look surprised by how soft his fur is by immediately pointing to the textbook. _“Both of you_ write this term and it’s definition down, it’s going to be a recurring term throughout the class semester. Do well to commit it to your memory rather than the features of my face.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then BP says something so _unprecedented_ and uncalled for that it makes your bravado and tact go straight down the drain. Honestly, you don’t even know how to hold yourself as he says it.

“And what if I _want_ to commit the features of your face to my memory?”

If you’d been drinking water when he said that, you’d have done a spit take, because _what did he just say?_

You flinch back a foot from BP, eyes wide as you snatch your hand away from over his shoulder. Startled by his change in attitude and by the observant and amused expression he displays over his cattish features, your brain draws a complete blank in your attempts to make an intelligible comeback.

 _“Wha-_ I… _You-!_ I mean…!” You snap out of your confusion to nail the now nearly-laughing cat monster with a foul glare of annoyance. You know _exactly_ what he’s doing. “You don’t mean that, you’re only saying it to get a rise out of me.”

BP snorts with mild laughter. “Yeah, maybe I am… Just that for a monster hater, you're kind of _weird,_ little buddy.”

The skin on the left of your nose scrunches up in distaste. Why does everybody keep _saying that?!_ Like, sure, it’s _kinda_ true, but does everyone have to point it out and rub salt into the wound?!

“Mind your own business, Litter drag,” you snark, but BP simply sits in his seat with his unwavering smirk- seemingly unaffected by you lashing out in response. Due to the fact that he’s unaffected by your efforts, you give him a foul look and glance away immediately, face flushing a hot red in your annoyance at being unable to shake him like he’s shaken you.

_Stupid cat._

You spin around, trying not to pay attention to how warm your face feels as you slam your finger back down on the textbook. Carefully avoiding both monster’s gazes, you dangerously growl, “Will you two just **_write the damn term down already?_** _”_

Papyrus grins wider than normal at your red face and hops over to BP's other side, leaning over the cat monster's loose shoulders to see what you're pointing at again.

"Sorry, Miss Human. Let us get back to our computer informative studies!" Papyrus announces, looking fired up to learn more about what you consider to be one of the more boring subjects in college.

The reason for your red colored face is soon forgotten as you immerse them in the coursework once more, unbothered by the librarian for the remaining thirty minutes until the three of you finally finish going over the first two chapters of the CIS textbook.

"Ugh, _I_ need a nap! If I have to read anymore facts on how the computer hard drive functions or how the internet processes information, I'm going to dust myself," BP remarks once he has his backpack pulled over his shoulders.

"There's a quiz on chapter two tomorrow, and if you want to pass it, you need to acquaint yourself with the part of your notes that I highlighted for you," you remind him, watching as his expression darkens with regret.

"...I'm nineteen and I refuse to waste the rest of my life... I'm nineteen and I refuse to waste the rest of my life..." BP repeats to himself under his breath like a mantra as he glances away, while Papyrus jumps to your side to claim your left hand in his gloved one. Startled by his sudden appearance and need for contact, you quite nearly rip your hand out of his. As soon as you remember about the date later though, you inwardly cringe in frustration and force yourself to relax at his side.

You have no escape from this display of his affection. After all, you agreed to go on the date and everything… You just have to be brave for a few hours and make sure the date goes well enough to satisfy Papyrus, but mundane enough that he won’t be hopelessly infatuated with you.

You’re not too worried about that last one though, you don’t consider yourself a heartthrob by a long shot.

...Hopefully it doesn't go badly. Once you get this over with, you're going to make it clear that you harbor no feelings for him and go on your merry way home.

"Miss Human! Are you excited for our date later tonight?" He asks as the two of you follow BP out of the library, prompting the cat monster to swivel around on his heel to give you and Papyrus stares of suspicion.

"Wait, you two were serious about that date?" BP asks, eyeing your hand in Papyrus' as you reluctantly allow the skeleton to walk down the library steps to the paths along the campus. Instead of meeting the cat monster's gaze, you look away to study something else around the campus dismissively. You’re against the idea of showing that you're having a change of hear- NO, _no you're not._

"Oh yes, Burgerpants!" Papyrus exclaims, oblivious to the soft hiss that escapes BP as his horrid nickname is uttered. "I will in fact be picking Miss Human up from her residence later around six thirty for our date tonight! I have planned with Alphys down to the dot! You will be most pleased, Miss Human! But for now... I must make my way to my next class! I will see you tonight, Miss Human. Please be punctual on the time,” Papyrus says with a cordial bow as he suddenly skirts in front of you, bringing your hand up to place a skeletal kiss over your knuckles with his teeth.

The familiar buzz of his magic you once felt when he kissed your forehead back at the hospital immediately sends tingles along the length of your hand and arm. Against your wishes, your cheeks once again flush a brilliant red much to your horror. Upon lifting his skull and noticing the effects of that simple gesture, Papyrus cackles in amusement watching you squirm and turn away in all sorts of directions to hide the rosiness of your face.

It’s not that you’re falling for him, you’re just not used to _that_ kind of attention.

“Farewell!” He says once more, before he turns away and begins striding off on those long legs of his to his next destination on campus, leaving you standing there in front of the library steps with BP, who reminds you of his presence with the sound of a lighter flickering on to light a cigarette between his thin cat lips.

Your eyes flick in his direction, watching the dim light of the red at the butt of the cigarette flare a brighter shade as he shuts his eyes for a moment and takes a long drag, soon exhaling the smoke into the afternoon air. Half hypnotized by the smoke, you watch it wisp into the sky with the air, carrying it to the other unsuspecting humans and monsters around campus with your hands shoved in your pants pockets.

“So…” Snapped out of your quiet moment of peace, you refocus your attention on BP again, aware of his cat eyes narrowed casually on you in thought. “What are you planning on doing now?”

You squint at the monster with a suspicious glare as he takes another drag of his cigarette, staring you down unblinkingly. It’s… Actually a bit intimidating, but you make an effort to stare back as you retort with, “None of your business,” and spin around to leave the campus.

You think you hear the cat snort in amusement and mutter something outrageous, but you do well to ignore it and pretend like you hear nothing.

_“’Monster hater' my ass...”_

* * *

Sans takes this moment to blip into existence right beside BP, yanking out a crumpled fifty dollar bill from his jacket pocket to pass to the cat monster’s outstretched paw-hand as they both watch you walk down the grassy hill from the library together in thought.

“So, do you really think my bro’s gonna be okay with her?” Sans asks inquisitively, waving away BP’s offer for a cigarette after cat monster checks out the crumpled up bill and promptly shoves it in the back pocket of his jeans.

Honestly, although Sans is starting to believe you to be harmless, he's still a tad bit uneasy over Papyrus being around you. Should he keep a closer eye on you? Or relax a bit? As a result of seeing the softer and funnier sides of you, Sans is confused and has no idea how to feel in response to what he's found. He wants to be hateful towards you- you're a  _human._ It's always easier on him to hate humans, even though he's found some better humans among the crowd- Frisk and Libby...

You, however, are a different story. So maybe you're not as ruthless as you're trying to be... Maybe you're just quiet and like your space, who knows? There's just something about you that Sans can't shake- and it makes no sense to him. It's not that he believes you're dreaming of being a monster duster anymore either- it's got to with what he heard between you and Undyne earlier that morning. 

Why can't Sans figure you out? Why couldn't he look into your soul? He has so many questions... But for now, his main focus is namely yours and Papyrus' date. You can't break his bones, but what if you end up breaking his heart?

He did warn you he'd give you a bad time if you hurt Papyrus in  _any_ way. Sans has to be sure, and maybe getting a second opinion from another sharp monster like... _Burgerpants_ (snort) is necessary.

“Sure. She’s completely harmless,” BP replies easily around the cigarette in his mouth as he pulls it away from his thin cat lips to blow away some more wispy smoke into the air. “She’s sharp with her mouth, but once you take away her only method of attack, she becomes a tomato faced frazzled mess of a flesh bag... It’s almost kind of cute how hard she’s _trying_ to hate monsters.”

Sans drags his eyes away from you to turn towards BP’s direction, disbelief coating his features. He can’t believe what he’s hearing... Did he just call a bitchy little human like you _cute?_

“Burgs, uh… Are you saying you _fancy_ her?” Sans inquires incredulously, completely flummoxed by BP’s admittance to such a crazy notion. ‘Cause seriously, who in the right mind would have a crush on a rude girl like you?

“Hard not to. Have you see those legs?” BP states, right before flicking his cigarette on the sidewalk and crushing the left over butt of it with his shoe to put out the dim red flare. “Not that I’ll act on it or anything. I might find her cute, but considering my last attempt at getting a girl’s attention… Yeah, I’m not risking it. Pretty people aren’t to be trusted, and I’m sticking to that.”

BP faces Sans with a raised brow, giving the skeleton an inquisitive stare. “Why are you so interested in her anyways? I mean, I get that she’s going on a date with your brother… But you're being a bit stalker-ish at this point. Looks weird, if you ask me.”

Sans glares at Burgerpants flatly, as if daring him to continue whatever thought is fluttering around in his mind. “I’m **_not_** attracted to her. I’m just making sure she doesn’t suddenly do something to Paps that she’ll regret.”

“…Right. Got it. Have fun with your stalking adventures then, _love-skull_ ,” BP answers nonchalantly without skipping a beat, causing Sans left eye to flare up momentarily when the cat monster turns to leave. Using his magic, the skeleton yanks BP’s hood over his head and face, startling a small growl of discontent from the cat monster before Sans teleports further down after you to see what you plan to do before your date with his brother. If he sees you heading for the beach to swim… He might take advantage of the time to go to your home again and read some more of your diary.

Then, he’ll chaperone the date between you and his brother for the night in secret.

 _Perfect plan,_ Sans decides, watching as you stop close to one of the lower parking lots to start looking around in clear confusion, eyes searching around for something in a way that makes Sans duck behind a bush before you spot him standing in plain sight. That’s weird… What are you looking for all of a sudden?

After a minute or two, you frown around and resume walking- albeit at a slower pace. Whatever stopped you becomes an afterthought, but lingers in Sans mind as he follows you carefully, concealing his presence by quietly teleporting after you in short distances.

* * *

You pause as you're fumbling for the keys to your home, letting out a shaky exhale and resting your throbbing warm forehead against the cool surface of the wooden front door. You feel _worse_ than you did before, and you're actually starting to feel a little overwhelmed considering you had things you wanted to do before your date. What in the world is up with you all of a sudden...?

It started with some coughing and a bit of a dizziness... Now it's a full blown skull-pounding _migraine_. To say that it snuck up on you is an understatement, and with much effort, you manage to unlock the door and get in before you can completely collapse into a heap outside the comfort of your home. It doesn't appear like Libby is home, which means she's at work in the bank down the street... Sterling Bank- which you're starting to think you're never going to get a job at despite Libby's father being one of your guardians. That's comforting a flipping  _hell,_ eh?

You groan as a stab of pain forms at your left temple, making you press your face into your hands. Your head hurts and you're tired... But  _why?!_

 _Maybe it's another meeting with Static?_ You wonder curiously, just as you shut the door with the weight of your backside, sliding down the door to the ground as the world begins to fade to an blurry haze that you attempt to resist. What more can they tell you? They're likely to just repeat what they mentioned before- **remember the time and the place.** Well, you're good on that. You know where this incident will happen and what time it will occur... Undyne has everything covered anyways! She's Captain of the Royal Guard, she can handle something like this...

Speaking of, is Undyne already getting to finding the magenta orbed Froggit?

You yank your mobile out with much effort, running your hand through your hair and wincing at a particularly painful stab that makes you whine a bit in frustration at the pain. Unlocking your phone is simple enough, but your vision is a bit too blurry to make out the letters to type out your message coherently, but you send it anyways and use the nearby wall to try and help yourself up.

Meeting with Static didn't hurt this much last time... It didn't hurt at _all_ actually. So why does it hurt so much right now?

You stumble your way over to the kitchen and open one of the cabinets to fish out some headache medicine, popping a pair of the pills in your mouth and grabbing a water bottle from the fridge to help it go down easier. Your muscles are twitchy and keep shaking as you take a seat on the floor of the kitchen, unable to keep yourself up on your feet as you wait for your headache to fade.

A quick glance down at your arm and you realize BP and Papyrus were correct- you _are_ looking paler than usual... Drained of your usual healthy glow as you turn your hand over a few times with interest and then letting it gently drop in your lap as you swallow down your anxiety.

You have a date and you look like utter _crap..._ It's not like you want to dress to impress, but if you don't look your best, Papyrus will likely send you back home and your mission to deflect his advances will be all for naught. If you have to sit and wait apprehensively for a third attempt at a 'first date', you're going to fling yourself off of whatever cliff Druella has been jumping off.

...Scratch that, no you're not. You hate heights and you wouldn't willingly do that for _any_ reason.

Your smart phone vibrates after a couple of minutes of silence, and you're not quite sure how long you've been sitting there staring off into the distance aimlessly, but you notice your headache has softened a bit once you pick up the call.

"Hello?" You ask begrudgingly, hating the idea of a call, yet somewhat finding relief in the idea that you don't have to force yourself to read a text midst your head pains.

 _"Hey, girlie! Tori's got the magenta Froggit at her place, so everything should be okay!"_ Undyne shouts over the line, quickly dissolving any relief you had seconds prior to answering as you yank your phone away from your ear with a furious growl of aggravation.

Right, how could you forget? Undyne is like a megaphone set on "intense".

Undyne chuckles in amusement at your objecting noise, but says nothing else. Likely because she doesn't know exactly _why_ you've reacted in such a way- other than maybe it being your usual irritation with her loudness. At least that's what you assume since she isn't asking any questions about it.

"Alright, that's great. If I get anything else, I'll let you... I'll..." You start, before trailing off in a sleepy yawn. Oh boy, you're getting tired now? On the bright side, at least your headache is successfully going away. Maybe a nap isn't such a bad idea... You can go swimming tonight or something instead.

You roll over on all fours to crawl your way to your room, listening to Undyne asking you something with audible irritation that you don't quite understand midst your exhaustion. Everything sounds like slurred gibberish, mixing together sloppily like paint colors in your mind. You mumble something unintelligible, before shaking your head in confusion and making another attempt.

"Can I call ya back later? I'ma bit sleeps... gun' nap before my dates..." You trail off, hanging up on Undyne's loudly shouting voice as you put your phone on silent and set up an alarm for an hour before your date. It's enough time for you to get prepared and ready for the date... For now though, you _really_ need that pillow and blanket of yours. You can practically hear your bed calling your name, and you lazily climb halfway up before you scowl in confusion when you notice your orange covered diary sitting smack on the middle of your bed.

...Not where you originally left it, but when you hear a soft meow under your bed, you roll your eyes and reach down- mildly surprised when you feel your kitten push itself immediately into your grip. Odd behavior from your usually distracted kitty cat, but like the diary, you just brush it off as your kitten's strange behavior. Sure, Libby wanted the cat, but it's practically yours since you take care of it the most. It's likely that the kitty pulled your diary out from behind the pillow or something...

Fishing your cat up onto your bed, it meows demandingly at the sight of you- a food handler.

"You already ate, fatty, no more," you reply drowsily in a mumble, crawling onto your warm inviting bed and grabbing a pen to open your diary and quickly jot down another entry since you have some time and really want to get it down before you hit the hay.

You start the entry off about Betsy Bunswick, but rather than putting all your attention on the entry, you begin to nod off and scribble whatever your mind wants in its hypnogogic state, right before you simply roll over and slip over the pillows with your kitten, who is attempting to attack your hair unsuccessfully to initiate some play time. After a few seconds of realizing their actions are for naught, you just barely catch the kitten jump down off of the bed and return to the unknown beneath it, meowing demandingly once more to the darkness beneath.

You just roll your eyes sleepily and shove your diary aside without shutting it, assuming you maybe left a plush under there that's making the kitten so excited.

In almost no time, you drift off into the inky darkness of sleep.

Surprisingly enough, despite your concerns, you do not dream of anything in particular, save for the sound of a gentle singling-like hum that reaches your ears midst your dreaming and unconscious state. The same particular hum you've already heard twice while on the school campus...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm BAAAACK! :D And I'll have another chapter for you guys this Friday, so don't worry! We will now be resuming our usual Friday updates!
> 
> Alsooo, I've made a Tumblr for this story- just to keep you guys updated on things and such! Feel free to follow and send me asks if you want. Or if you want to just make some simple conversation, I'm all for that too~! :P
> 
> AND-AND! A dear reader here named Metamaterialgirl was kind enough to draw a magnificent piece of fan art for the story! I've placed the link below for you guys to view it, please send her lots of love on her hard work~! Her art is wonderful, she's wonderful, and I'm JUST NOT WORTHY!! *while throwing more flowers at artist's feet*
> 
> Links~:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)


	23. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has an epiphany, you're sleeping (hehe), and Libby is probably being shady as per usual(?).

Chapter 23: Waking Up

 

As soon as your breathing slows to an easy pace and you lose yourself to your dreamless sleep, Sans wriggles out from under your bed with a quiet exhale of absolute _relief._ He's certain that if you were in your right mind, you'd have noticed how odd it was that your diary was just randomly laying on the bed like that.

He hadn't expected you to suddenly recover from sitting down on the kitchen floor- you looked like you were in a pretty bad state... Sans felt odd at the sight of you sitting there like that, having this weird urge to check on you to see if he could help. As soon as he became aware of this need of his, however, he quashed it out of his mindset and refocused on your diary in your room.

Once he heard you shuffling back onto your feet from his seated place on your bed, he dove under like there was no tomorrow. The kitten proved to be a bit of a problem when it wandered under to demand food from him, but a quick little shove in the direction of your reaching hand and it was out of his way meowing at you instead.

Not that it matters anymore anyways. You're out like a _light..._ And unlikely to be roused your sleep anytime soon.

 _What did she just finish writing...?_ Sans wonders, gently pulling your diary out from under the dead weight of your arm, causing the recent page you were writing on to wrinkle and fold in the arduous process.

While Sans is trying to move the diary, you sleepily wriggle your wrist in Sans light grip a bit, causing Sans to stiffen up in alarm and flick his eye lights over towards you. He waits for his inevitable doom, already anticipating the shriek of horror you'll make when you find him in your room uninvited.

...

When you make no other movement following his thought, Sans finishes extracting the diary from under your arm and rests your limb back down carefully. Not wanting to take any chances, Sans relocates to the living room with your diary at hand, taking a quiet seat on the couch.

Upon sitting, he suddenly recalls something and turns his skull in every which direction to find the kitten of the house, which he eventually finds has followed him from the room but is no longer meowing. It's chosen to sit a couple feet away from the couch with their tiny tail curled around their feet on the floor, staring at Sans with a leer from afar that makes Sans scoff under his breath in amusement.

Either way, from where Sans is sitting on the couch, you're less likely to wake up and notice him in your abode off the bat, and if you get up to enter the living room, he will be notified by the creaking floorboards beforehand. There's no way he wouldn't be able to hear you coming, though considering how sleepy you sounded earlier, there's also _no way_ you'll be leaving that bed for the next hour or so.

_Okay, let's see what you wrote this ti-_

Sans thoughts cut off abruptly as he unfolds the page of your most recent entry, causing his left eye socket to flash with energy as a sudden startled rush of raw power nearly causes his magic to flare out wildly in relation to his emotions. Before damage can be done within your home, Sans slaps the diary down a bit too loudly to settle the vigorous thrumming of magic within the marrow of his bones. It takes a minute or two of recuperating for him to relax and lean out towards the arm rest of the couch to look into your room and make sure you're still fast asleep.

Luckily, you appear to be completely unbothered by the noise Sans has made, so the skeleton shifts back and sits properly the couch to take another look at your diary entry. A few deep breaths (unnecessary breaths since he's a skeleton) and he flips your diary back up.

The beginning of the page looks normal- clean organized writing that is a bit sloppy here and there to signal your struggle to fight off the urge to ker-plunk straight into the pillows. By the middle of the page, your writing becomes barely legible, very sloppy and much unlike your usual script- let alone the beginning script of this entry. It doesn't even look like you're the same person who wrote it. It looks like someone took your pen and added in their own notes to your diary entry, with some of the letters being _completely_ different characters than that of the written English alphabet. After the beginning of the section, however, what's written eventually becomes a completely different script of symbols altogether, and the previous alphabet letters vanish.

Lucky for Sans... He knows what this kind of writing it is and understands it to a 'T'. He's seen it in a book before- the same book he used to learn the Super Secret Brother Language. They're symbols to an alphabet called _Wingdings._ It's writing he used to use down in his lab behind his house underground for blueprints.

Why do _you_ know it though? And why do you also know the Super Secret Brother Language hand signs?

_ Tuesday: September 14th, 20XX - Entry 2 _

_ 'I met another monster today. A rabbit monster named Betsy Bunswick... I think she's nice. Because of this, I don't really know what to do with myself. I don't know what to think anymore, I don't know how to feel about monsters. I'm so confused... I admit I don't really... _ Hate _them, I guess. And it's not that I ever thought they were bad. Undyne was right- I was just using another excuse to get away from everyone because I'm afraid of the world and don't think anyone will ever care for me as much as Libby does. Libby is my whole life, she's practically my sister, and she's done the_ unimaginable _for me.'_

Sans narrows his eyes on this line momentarily. This is the point where your writing becomes a bit sloppier, though it still looks like your script. You're starting to get sleepier here, and it shows since you're beginning to write with more emotion. Sans can practically feel the sorrow rolling off of every word you wrote, and his phalanges grip the sides of your diary in response.

You've admitted that you don't really hate monsters... So Undyne was right then? This is how you really feel? That you just wanted to find an excuse to push monsters away? Why go through such lengths by saying you hate monsters though?

...

The skeleton monster returns to reading, shaking himself out of his thoughts.

_ 'I mean, who could care for me as much as she did? Lucette is gone... I mean, I guess if I really ever mattered to her, she'd have tried to keep in contact with me, right? She hasn't tried to reach out whatsoever... And maybe Libby's parents wouldn't give me her family's number because Lucette asked them not to... Right? My own parents are AWOL, who knows where either of them are. Libby's parents never found them, despite paying for some expensive methods to track them down. They just left me like I was nothing. Libby has always been around for me. I don't deserve to have someone like her in my life... But I also admit I am selfish. I know she's going to leave me someday- everybody always leaves. People grow up and move on, whether to start a family or to find success elsewhere. I just want Libby around for a little longer... Is this too much to ask for? I want to apologize already... I know she was right- she's always right and I'm always wrong-- I'm so sorry- I'm sorry- I' **mssr-'** _

Sans gulps reflexively, eye lights moving down to the unfamiliar scrawls of a stranger, despite that there's no denying it's _you_ who wrote it. Sans heard you writing the entire thing, he even heard you scribbling wildly at the bottom. No one else is here by you and him, and _he_ certainly didn't write it.

**_ '- _ ** **_ rinnEntry number seventeen-   _ **

**_ Dark darker yet darker- the darkness keeps growing- the shadows cutting deeper- photon readings negative- this next experiment seems very _ **

**_ -very                                                                                 -It's raining somewhere else_ **

**_ -Interesting...                                                                -Can you hear it, (Name)?_ **

**_ -What do you two think? _ **

Sans finally allows his eye lights to rest on the disturbing and dark scribbles that cover the bottom most portion of the page, just beneath the messy scrawl of barely recognizable Wingdings midway of the entry. Initially shocked by the sight of it, Sans is now only _half_ on edge as he takes in the disturbing scribbled patches of ink- attempting to make some sense of them.

...

He doesn't understand the meaning of the Wingdings text or the reason for your scribbles. Did you just write all that nonsense in response to a dream? And... If what he heard between you and Undyne is accurate... Are you in the process of dreaming about something important? Sans still doesn't understand why your dreams relate closely to things in reality- like knowing the Super Secret Brother Language. Does that mean you're having some kind of visions?

How can a regular human do something like that? Are you maybe a mage? All the more reason to be worried, _especially_ if you're unaware of it. You could emotionally lash out without meaning to cause damage and accidentally hurt somebody...

Sans flinches in realization at the slight feeling of worry he feels for you and sets your diary down quickly, running his phalanges down his face. He _himself_ feels conflicted over the matter of how to feel about you now.

He's felt a bit of pity and concern while heckling you a few times- especially that first time when he locked you out of the house and you ran off. He even followed you to make sure you didn't get hurt. He hated every minute of it, but did it anyways for some reason... Which made him hate it even more.

As of this moment, Sans is aware that he's been exhibiting unacceptable behavior towards you... Behavior he's never exhibited before- not even to Frisk during _those_ times.

Could this just be a bad reaction between your soul and his own? Sans doesn't know, but it's odd that _he's_ the only other monster that feels this way towards you... Suspicious of your intentions yet curious about you to the point of following you around all at the same time. Burgerpants claimed he was wary of you in the beginning as well, but considering his newfound feelings, it's clear that he's gotten over that suspicion of his rather quickly. If Sans is being completely honest, these feelings of his own makes his head spin a little.

He even spoke about this to Libby last night, right before Papyrus got there to join them for watching movies.

...Which, to go on a tangent there, was totally hilarious and worth sticking around to see Libby huff around for a bit after the "surprise" (read: intentional) appearance of his brother. Oh, Sans totally _knew_ what Libby had been trying to set up from the moment she mentioned "Netflix and Chill". Sans may have been stuck under a _literal_ rock for an extended amount of time, but he wasn't born yesterday. Besides, it's pretty easy to use human technology and catch on to what's an ongoing popular fad.

Yeah, Sans knows he's an asshat and won't argue against it if challenged. Especially when _humans_ are involved, then his attitude towards an advancing human is likely to double.

Back to last night, Sans mentioned he felt oddly hostile whenever he's around you. Even whenever he just _thought_ about you- which occurs a bit too often for comfort. Libby told him he was likely just feeling protective of his brother... But Sans knows this feeling runs a _lot_ deeper than just his concern over you being around Papyrus.

He'd warned you to play nice the very first time the two of you connected over a text message meant for his brother. From what Sans can remember... He didn't feel the same odd hostility he now feels for you.

Sans originally thought you seemed like a somewhat fun human- prickly personality and all. He'd laughed at the fact that despite his minor threat (which is his personal welcome greeting towards anyone attempting to befriend his brother), you were gutsy enough to reply "understood", when any other sane human usually just clamps up and tries to avoid him promptly after. Libby had done the same along with a few other people... With the other exception of Alan Barrett, who had laughed and called his protectiveness over Papyrus "adorable" and "admirable". Sans is still not over that uncomfortable feeling of sheepishness of meeting such a nice _male_ human, as the nicer and approachable humans thus far have mostly been female.

Sans informed Libby after that first text message conversation that he thought you seemed cooler than she described you to be- that is "icy" and a bit callous towards others. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone now, after those texts he kind of wanted to meet you. Maybe pull some pranks on you to see how you'd react like he does with Papyrus.

Heh, Papyrus has the _best_ reactions...

Libby seemed surprised when Sans admitted those things to her- about wanting to meet you for himself.

That's when Libby mentioned your desire to dust a monster.

Later on after thinking alone about her statement, initially believing it to be an exaggeration despite Libby's insistence on it being the truth... _That's_ when he felt those first hateful feelings of hostility towards you fill him to the brim. They literally appeared out of nowhere, likely due to his constant thoughts about Libby's words.

...!

Sans lifts his head from his hands abruptly, as if a bubble he wasn't aware of around him has just been popped.

 _Did Libby_ lie _about (Name) wanting to dust a monster?_

Sans fumbles to the side to grab your diary again, flipping to the last old entry he left off at to skim the remaining unread pages for a certain entry- a _specific_ entry he's certain you're likely to have written about.

Monsters first leaving the mountain and being announced their existence to the public. Your initial thoughts on the existence of monsters. _That's_ the entry Sans knows he should be reading.

 _Next- next- not this one-_ _next- next- wait, did you mention something about_ bloo _-...?!_ **NEXT _._**

For the first time since he first opened your diary, as his cheekbones stain a vibrant blue he is unable to suppress after reading something that should _not_ have been read, Sans feels ashamed of invading your privacy this way. This is _so, so wrong._ Whatever moral numbness that first gripped him to be able to flip through your diary in the first place is dissolving at a startlingly rapid pace, and uneasiness crashes into him like a rogue wave.

But he can't stop _yet._

Next- next- ne- _wait._

Sans stops flipping pages after finding a pair of entries he catches the word "monster" in, looking two entries back to make sure this is the first time you've mentioned them. Looks like he's found what he's looking for... And it makes his magic thrum within him at an uncomfortable pace. After this, he's _done_ reading entries. He's _done_ going through your diary and personal things. Undyne was right to step in and shake him from this erratic behavior... But he just has to make sure about this one thing.

**_ Friday: May 23rd, 20XX _ **

_ 'Monsters... UGH, I don't know whether the news stations are smoking a special kind of "something" or if I've gone and stepped foot into the twilight zone.  _ Monsters?! MONSTERS?! _Are you kidding me?!... Omg, they're not kidding. They all have different footage of them_ everywhere, _and I don't know how to react to it_ at all. _Should I be worried? I guess not...? Apparently there's this tiny wonder kid- A KID- that released them from Mt. Ebott and is being called the monster ambassador. Not sure how this wonder kid is going to help them, but if he can set a species free from a so called "magical barrier" that's blocked their exit from under a mountain for over a couple hundred- thousand (GAH, I DON'T KNOW) years, then I guess no one else is as qualified as he is..._ Ish? _Again, still have no idea how to react to this. Just another kind of people I get to avoid, I guess. They don't seem_ too _bad so far. The idea of magic is kind of scary though... No doubt scientists are going to be scratching their heads trying to understand it. Kind of worrisome for a monster, if you ask me.'_

Sans lets out a soft breath he doesn't even realize he is holding... Somewhere. You were uneasy at the first appearance of monsters, unsure of how to deal with them or if they were dangerous... But you were concerned about human scientists trying to study them. It's a correlating pattern of behavior you've been showing since Sans has met you. Warding everyone off with barbs and every so often accidentally revealing they're barbs made of rubber.

_ '...Whatever. It doesn't matter, so long as they don't bother me. Although just looking at them bugs me, they can do what they want for all I care. I have no say in it either way, and frankly, I don't  _ want _to have a say in it. I know I'm not the only person thinking it or wanting this, but I'd personally hate to be the one to put them back under the mountain._

_ Maybe I'm just thinking that because I haven't met one though... _

_... _

_ And I  _ don't _want to meet one.'_

**_ Monday: June 2nd, 20XX _ **

_ 'Monsters...  _ Again! _THEY'RE EVERYWHERE NOW, MY GOD. That's not my biggest gripe by far, however. See, that wouldn't bug me_ whatsoever _\- if it wasn't for the fact that THEY. WON'T. STOP. TRYING. **TO TALK TO ME.** Damn it, **do you not see the two earphones in both my ears?** It means, "don't talk to this individual"! Am I smiling when I pull my earphones out? No? Then **go away!** Quit trying to be all cute! Don't bug me or I'll... I DON'T KNOW, I'LL GET REALLY ANGRY, **WHATEVER!**_

**_ BLEH!' _ **

Sans snorts in amusement and then... _Then_ he closes your diary for the self promised last time and reclines back completely on the sofa, slouching in his seat and allowing pure relief to flood his bones. You... Really _aren't_ a bad human. There's still that sassy attitude you spew, coupled with the fact that you're also not a welcoming human like that Alan is... But you're not _bad._ Even if you _are_ a rotten human.

Sans feels like a weight is lifted from his shoulders as he slouches, taking a deep breath and exhaling with a silly smile across his face. Something about reading that entry has unsullied those swampy sensations of hostility he's had for you. It's weird how quickly they appeared and how they vanished just as fast by reading one last entry to quell his nerves, but he's happy he no longer feels this uncanny urge to dunk on you.

Maybe... He can apologize for real now.

...

Sans laughs to himself a bit, slapping his hand over his face. What in the world is he _thinking?_ It's not like that'll do anything. He's totally screwed up- in more than one way. You didn't accept his fake apology, so why would you accept the real one then? He's treated you like garbage from day one. Whether he wants to apologize or not no longer matters... Though... He could always win your approval by his _actions._

Sans frowns and drags his hand down over his mouth, leering up at the ceiling in suspicion. All of a sudden...

Okay, so feeling bad for his actions- he gets that. Wanting to apologize for real- he _also_ gets that.

...But _Why_ does he want your _approval?_ That's a strange thing to want, considering only a few hours earlier he was desperate to get his brother and the other monsters to see how bad of a human you truly were. Obviously, that's not something he can possibly do since you're a freaking marshmallow and your sugary innards are showing.

Sans shakes the thought out of his head with a roll of his eye lights. Whatever... He's just going to make an effort to win your approval anyways. He doesn't care why he wants it, maybe because it's just the right thing to do after promising Undyne to give you a chance. Now that Sans actually _wants_ to give you a chance himself, he's more than willing to get on with his promise without any nefarious tricks or ulterior motives.

...Those dreams of yours though. _If_ you're a mage, you're likely to still be _dangerous_ whether you're good or not. Considering you're working with Undyne and relaying things to her just in case- _And_ to King Asgore as well, you're likely not going to be someone what monsters will fear or keep away from due to who you are as a person. For as callous as you try to act, you're actually rather caring on the inside. Not even your desire to _hate_ monsters can change that.

The issue of it being bad news is being the holder of magic you can't control. You'll likely need to have someone train you to keep hold of letting it lash out- emotions make magic go _crazy._ You could even hurt _yourself,_ since a part of you is non-magic unlike the whole bodied magic beings monsters are.

_"She wants to see how it feels to dust a monster. She's told me this herself."_

...She lied.

_Libby lied to him._

Sans, naturally, is angry over this. Why would Libby lie about something like that to him? Isn't she even supposed to be infatuated with him? Who would make a lie about that to someone they care about? If that's the case, then why...?

...

...Oh.

...Oh, _that's_ why.

Sans knows why Libby did it.

Libby _lied_ because Sans was showing an _interest_ in you. She did it because she was _jealous._ What else could she have done it for? Sans had been laughing and feeling strangely energized after texting you so much, sharing those stupid puns and snickering whenever he waited to message you. You'd been messaging back so quickly- like you were having fun with the text war yourself. Besides, she mentioned it right after he said he wanted to meet you.

Why did he listen to her? Why didn't he just listen to his own head...?

Sans stares up at the ceiling before he is hit with an epiphany, sitting up quickly with his hands still pressed to his mouth as he stares ahead at the television in your living room, his reflection staring back in equal awe as he lets a new realization soak his mind.

...? What the _hell_ was Sans doing listening to Libby so much?! Undyne was RIGHT about EVERYTHING! Why was he so blindly just following Libby's words around like that?! She's _human_ , regardless of how nice she seemed off the bat and how easily Sans lets his walls fall whenever she's around him.

 _Idiot!_ Sans groans in his head, slapping the base of his hand against the top of his skull once more. He feels like he's waking up from a night mare- one he had no control over. Or maybe awakening from an enchantment of the sorts.

Whatever, now that he's completely focused... Now that he's thinking straight again, he's going to make a new assessment of you. A proper unbiased assessment, that is. First off, he needs to leave. Take a nap to let everything sink in... Not to mention find a method of approaching Libby and clearing this issue of jealousy and the lies. If he lets her down now, she likely won't pull anything like this again, so it's better if he just gets it over with as soon as possible.

Sans relaxes and moves to stand up, picking up your diary with a more than exhausted expression of uneasiness before-

-He turns and finds you standing near the kitchen and front door, facing the exit yet looking straight at him with unfocused, tired eyes.

Sans eye sockets widen in horror, eye lights tiny pin pricks of shock at the sight of you out of bed and staring at him unabashedly. He can't tell what emotions are running through your mind as you keep your gaze leveled on him expressionlessly, and for some reason this only scares him even more as he stands in your living room like a deer caught in headlights. The diary in his hand falls straight to the floor, his skeletal phalanges unable to keep hold of it due to the unexpected scene.

Silence fills the room, and Sans finds it difficult to form a single coherent thought in his mind as he stares into your dull sleepy eyes. He wonders if he should move towards you or away from you... Maybe he can convince you you're dreaming? No, that's stupid... Maybe he should just give you your diary and teleport away now that he knows there's literally no hope in mending any platonic relationship with you?

"I... I can explain?" Sans tries with a weak smile, his cheekbones flushing blue despite the unchanging look of boredom over your face.

Before Sans can do anything, you simply turn away and start walking over to the front door, unlocking it and stepping outside completely barefooted. The skeleton monster is almost speechless at the sight and nearly stays standing there like a statue until he wills his feet to rush over to the door and try to catch up to you.

Oddly enough, you've waltzed out wordlessly without even closing the door behind you. You must be _really_ pissed off...!

"(N-Name), wait...!" Sans blurts out as he passes through the doorway, closing the door behind himself as he races out of your home after you. Surprisingly enough, you're not actually walking away _that_ fast, and Sans adjusts accordingly when he notices this, head tilting slightly to the side in confusion as he takes in your pace and body language.

Now that he's studying you more, you don't actually seem mad... You look strangely unbothered for having found the person you hated the most snooping through your diary and sitting in your living room like he owned the place. You look like you didn't even _see_ him!

"(Name)?" Sans hesitantly repeats, brow bones knitting together as he reaches out to tap on your shoulder a bit with his phalanges.

You do not react.

 _Why isn't she...?_ Sans wonders, until a memory jumps out at him from the back of his mind and makes him slow down in disbelief. Before he can get _too_ far though, Sans speeds up and walks right around you to get directly in your line of sight, walking backwards and snapping his fingers in your face as you walk. You neither speed up, nor do you slow down- with no reaction to Sans' snapping fingers in your face as you walk on with your unfocused eyes staring ahead straight past the monster currently trying to get your attention. _She's... Sleepwalking?_

Sans puts his hands on your shoulders to stop you, inhaling sharply in surprise, when you push right past his force and bump into him full on, causing Sans to flinch violently at the familiar soft flesh of your body. He'd felt it back when he teleported the two of you to your room after escaping his brother and Frisk... But this time it's a little more unexpected, and Sans jumps out of your way before you can fully stop, resulting in your continued march towards... _Wherever_ you're headed.

 _I can't just leave her to walk around like this..._ Sans realizes with a huff of irritation, taking to a similar slow pace behind you as he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. He doesn't feel any of that hostility from before, thankfully, but he certainly doesn't find babysitting you in this state any better from it. Half of him wants to wake you up like he was about to do... Another half, a curious half of him that (before meeting you) hasn't appeared since way back when he was doing work with Alphys in the lab, wants to see where you go and what you intend to do.

So with that, Sans diligently follows you through the streets, ignoring the looks of people as they spot the two of you walking around. You pay no attention to them whatsoever. To Sans' eye sockets, it's like nobody else exists to you at the moment... Which he finds pretty interesting up until the point he realizes you're heading towards the piers.

First of all, Sans personally has no problem with piers. He can't swim since he's all bone, and will sink like a rock as a result, but that's not why he is suddenly very on edge when he realizes where you're waking.

You had that other entry in your diary where you woke up from sleepwalking- only to realize you were moments away from diving off the pier and straight into the ocean. Are you trying to subconsciously do that right now?

Sans continues to follow, this time sticking a little closer in case you get any funny ideas through your sleepy haze. Close enough that he'll be able to see and stop you physically or with his magic if need be. If anything happens to you and he rescues you... Maybe you'll start taking his apology a bit more seriously.

"Hey, Sans!"

Sans stops walking to face the speaker of this new voice, grabbing hold of your arm automatically, much to his own surprise. Thankfully, you stop but show no sign of snapping out of your daze. The sound of footsteps growing closer come from the right, and upon turning, Sans is met with the grinning face of Alan Barrett as he jogs the rest of the way over to you and Sans. He's wearing jogging gear and breathing hard as he closes the distance easily, which Sans takes a moment to admire before thinking back to a time when he himself was  _less_ big boned than he is now.

"Oh, hey, kid. What's up?" Sans inquires, watching the tall human come to a slow stop before him and straighten up brightly, pulling an earphone out from his right ear to listen to the shorter skeleton.

"Nothing much. Just taking a jog around the piers and stuff... I didn't expect to see you here with (Name) though. Finally making friends?" Alan inquires, causing Sans to raise a brow bone up at him. It's before Sans can say anything about it that Alan notices you standing next to the skeleton monster quietly, staring off towards the pier across the street ahead of yourself with a sleepy gaze as Sans clings to your arm firmly but gently. Alan's features twist in slight confusion as he leans forward to get in your visual line of sight. He knows how you react whenever you're in his presence, but regardless of your irises flicking in his direction, you seem completely unresponsive. It's like Alan isn't even really there. "(Name)?"

Sans gives the nice male human a sympathetic smile. "I already tried that several times. She wouldn't even wake up when I stood in her path to stop her," Sans explains, watching Alan yank out his other earphone and wrap the cable around the back of his neck to snap his fingers in your face to get your attention. You don't flinch, not even with the sound being louder than the snapping of Sans.

"Oh, my... She's sleepwalking?" Alan asks Sans, turning to face him instead as Sans releases your arm hesitantly when it appears you aren't planning on moving anytime soon. Once he is sure you aren't going to wander away, he shoves his hands in his pockets again and looks up at Alan. "My cousin used to do that... He would just stand up in the middle of the night and we'd find him sleeping in the weirdest of places the morning after."

"Seriously? Is sleepwalking a common thing for you humans?" Sans asks, brow bones knitting together in disbelief as he blinks up at Alan. "Monsters don't do that."

"Ehh, not necessarily? It's a lot more common in kids like, fourteen years old and under... Some adults do it, but it usually occurs when the person is sleep deprived," Alan explains, looking over at you once more in concern. "Do you think we should... I don't know. Sprinkle some water on her face? I remember my cousin's dad would pour a bucket of water over my cousin's face whenever it happened to him, but I don't think (Name) will take too kindly for that regardless of the reason."

Sans grins wider and turns to look up at Alan, amused by the human's pacifistic soul. "I'm sure a light slap will do, don't you?"

Alan squints his eyes in uncertainty, sparing you a glance before resting his dubious gaze back down on Sans. "You think you should _slap_ her?" He inquires in disbelief, watching Sans cackle lightly and shake his head.

"No. I think _you_ should slap her," Sans explains, watching the look of horror wash over Alan's face as he says this. The skeleton monster has to stop himself from laughing at the aghast expression on the human's face. Sure, he's not out to ruin your life anymore, but still, teasing Alan is turning out to be _hilarious._ "See, I've got these bony phalanges here... If _I_ slapped her, it would hurt twice as much than if _you_ did it. I'd likely scratch her face in the process too, if you ask me. Therefore, I elect you to lightly slap her awake, using your soft, gentle fleshy human hands."

Alan stares straight into Sans' amused eye sockets and cringes as he shakes his head quickly. Sans has no idea what's funnier, the look on his face or the fact that he was momentarily considering Sans' proposition. "I can't slap her. She's... She's a _girl..."_ Alan says weakly in defense, causing Sans to nearly lose it as he bites down on his lower mouth ridge with his teeth when Alan shrinks back from him in response. For being a tall human male, Alan appears to be as gentle of a giant as his brother is.

"I'm... Pretty sure Undyne would skin you and use you as a rug if she ever heard you utter those words," Sans chuckles, causing Alan to throw his hands up as his face flushes a vibrant red of embarrassment.

"I can't help it! I was raised to be nice to girls, not to _slap_ them! And couldn't you just pull your sleeve over your hand if your phalanges are really the issue here?" Alan points out a suspicious leer, watching as Sans shrugs nonchalantly at his words. It's then that Alan blinks with realization and then slaps his own hand against his face in disbelief. "Wait- _Why are we talking about trying to slap her?!_ There's probably an easier way to wake her up _without_ violence! Let's just..."

Alan turns to face you again, only for the blood to drain from his face when he finds that you are no longer standing in the same place Sans left you. Noticing Alan's sudden drastic change in behavior, Sans spins around in alarm and feels his nonexistent stomach drop when he too realizes you are missing. Whirling around in every direction, they eventually find you a couple meters in towards the pier ahead, weaving through the crowd easily as if you _weren't_ actually asleep.

It looks like there's some of acrobatic performance going on around the pier, making it tough to spot your figure for longer than three seconds as you literally bounce in and out of sight every few moments while the two boys absorb the situation in growing alarm.

 _"Shit!"_ Sans curses, darting in a run with Alan towards the pier much to his own disdain. If there's anything Sans hates, it's exercise... Which includes running. Although, at this point, he's got a _very_ good idea of what you're planning to subconsciously do.

"(Name)!" Alan calls out, and almost like magic, as soon as they close in on your position and reach out to take hold of you arm again, you elegantly spin out of their range and flip back over the edge of the pier. Both Alan and Sans go stock still at the sight of you balancing in a handstand on the edge of the pier, unsure of how to help you down without hurting you since you're in such a precarious position.

Sans is just about to use his magic to help you down when you move one arm and cartwheel quickly down the side of the pier along the narrow fence of the edge, and Sans is once again caught up staring at your elastic display. People along the pier, unaware that you're not a part of the acrobatic performance at the very end of the pier where the wooden planks stretch out to a larger area for movement, just watch and applaud in awe and crowd around the sides to watch your own display. Their sudden huddling around Sans and Alan make it all the tougher for the skeleton to use his magic when he can't see you clearly over the taller humans and monsters around, causing him to shove past the people to try and reach you.

Alan, unaware of your talent, watches gobsmacked beside the skeleton as you continue down the side of the wooden fencing, until you flip back onto two feet on the safe inside of the confines of the platform again- easily avoiding the crowd as you land. Seeing this as a chance to catch up to you, Sans and Alan move through the crowd a little faster in their attempts to reach you. Sans can no longer use his magic since the crowd around the pier is busy enough to block you from his line of sight every time someone walks in front of him.

You seemingly weave around people like you're dancing, but this time Sans and Alan are too focused trying to reach you before-!

You give the crowd your back once you reach the very end of the pier and step up on the ledge, looking out towards the vast ocean ahead along the setting sun as the people around gasp and point. Most of them have now caught your earlier display of cart wheeling along the edge of the pier before, and now watch to see what else you do. Sans and Alan, however, push past the thickening crowd. You are _not_ a part of the show.

_Don't jump, god, please don't be stupid and-!_

Just as they push past the last of the people huddled around the pier where you stand at the edge, there is a gasp that runs through the crowd. Sans hears one man shouting about sharks being in the area for migration as a loud splash is heard towards the end of his outburst, but he's unsure of what that's supposed to mean. He reckons a shark is a sea creature, and although unfamiliar with it, he figures it's likely something dangerous if a man is shouting about it to keep you from choosing to jump. Upon breaking through the crowd though, Sans and Alan don't find you standing on the edge of the pier any longer.

They both rush to the edge and look down, but Sans' hopes of helping you are quashed when he is unable to find your form in the disturbed water below. The sea looks dark past the surface since the sun is setting, and the sea foam from the bubbles left behind after your jump only make it harder to spot you down under. Are you swimming? Did you maybe wake up? Or... Are you just sinking down?

Before Sans can say anything, Alan shoves his phone and music player in Sans' arm, promptly diving off the edge of the pier after you fully clothed in his exercise wear and causing more gasps to fill the pier as Sans hugs the things in his arms. He looks over the edge on the tips of his toes to see if he can see either you or Alan, but all he sees is sea foam and darkness. If Alan finds you and brings you to the surface where Sans can see him, he'll be able to pull the two of you out and back on the pier though, so Sans keeps his eye lights peeled.

...

Bubbles rise to the surface of the water, but it's only one set. Sans nonexistent stomach churns with unease. Where are you and Alan? You didn't sink _that_ far down, did you?

 _Lovely, by the time I want to make an effort and apologize, she jumps off the pier into the ocean,_ Sans huffs in the back of his mind until someone breaks through the surface, coughing water from their lungs as they cling to somebody looking around in absolute shock, eyes wide and fearful as they take in the water around them and cling to their companion nervously. Surprisingly, it's Alan coughing and you just looking around wildly. You don't look affected for having gone underwater for so long... How long can humans stay underwater anyways? Your species are entirely and wholesomely  _land_ creatures...

This isn't the time to be thinking about that though.

Sans lets out an exhale of relief and promptly focuses his magic on two of you below, people gasping in awe as his left eye flashes blue- the magic visibly wrapping around both you and Alan before he easily lifts both of you out of the water. He's rarely ever used his magic around other people, so he's a bit on edge in his ministrations- reminding himself this is necessary if there really _is_ something dangerous in the water.

You look confused beyond belief by the time you're set down on the pier with Alan, shooting Sans nervous glances until you realize who it is that's currently holding you against them tightly- trying to get your attention through your haze of confusion.

"(Name), are you awake?" Alan asks a bit louder, making you visibly jump before your eyes set on his face and Sans watches you tense up in surprise.

"A-Alan? What are...?" You question before darting your gaze back towards Sans apprehensively when he walks on over to you, quelling the magic still aflame in his left eye as he takes a seat beside you and Alan on the pier. You look like you want to ask what he's doing here- a less than pleased expression on your face at the sight of the skeleton. Sans sheepishly glances away, and it appears this is enough to make you focus on more important things.  "...Why are we at the pier?"

Alan lets out a sigh, running a hand through his wet hair before snickering and reaching over to pull a strand of thin seaweed out of _your_ hair. You seem to realize you're both covered in sea water at that point, and you shift to put some space between yourself and Alan at the notice. Before you can ask anything else, Sans speaks up.

"So, sweet tart. I was on my way to go **sea** Libby and found you talking a stroll through dream land. I was trying to wake you up, but nothing I did seemed to work. Then we ran into Alan, and while the two of us were trying to how to wake you up... You kind of decided your next **porpoise** in life was to swan dive off the end of the pier," Sans summarizes casually, causing your jaw to drop in mild shock. You're only startled when you notice all the eyes resting on you, causing you to shrink back from the staring crowd.

"Come on, we should go..." Alan quietly murmurs towards Sans, reaching out to grab your hand and help you on your feet as he stands up. You allow Alan to pull you up, but notably avoid the male human's gaze as you lower your eyes down towards the ground quietly.

"Thanks," you mumble, sounding oddly dejected despite the fact that your human friend jumped right off the pier after you. Maybe it's that you're embarrassed that your crush found you sleepwalking? 

...Or maybe you didn't notice he jumped in to save you? Hm.

"That was pretty gutsy of you to throw yourself off the pier after her, kid. I'm glad I could **reel** the two of you out of there even with all of us **packed like sardines** here," Sans states, and although your eyes sort of flash with realization at his words and your cheeks dust a light shade of red, you still evidently cringe and groan out loud at the puns. Alan himself just chuckles carefully into the back of his hand, trying not to laugh at your expense despite your funny reaction. You sound like Papyrus does did he spoke of his brother.

At your groan, Sans seems to only grin wider, and that's when you look up at him and start to study him a little more, taking to a walk beside Alan as the three of you start weaving through the crowd that is still staring. Seems like Sans' doing a good job at distracting you from noticing them, but when your gaze lingers on Sans he begins to squirm a little at your unwavering stare. You're not glaring or anything, but it's still weird. He can feel you observing him, and as a result, he begins to spew a few more puns due to his sudden discomfort.

"No need to be **crabby** or **steamed** over a few puns, Miss Human," Sans states, before your walking kind of slows and your eyes visibly start looking around a little. At this, Sans discomfort dissolves and he leers at you curiously.

As if noticing him studying _you_ now, you stop looking around and walk complacently beside Alan.

You're very quiet, and although Alan doesn't look bothered by the silence between the three of you, you and Sans both sense the awkwardness between the two of you.

Sans is aware this looks very strange. It's not like he has to lead you and Alan away, he can leave whenever he wants. Likely, you'd feel a lot more comfortable if it were just you and Alan walking around together. Unfortunately for you, Sans kind of wants to stay. If he's going to earn your forgiveness at all, he better start sooner rather than later- And he can't avoid awkward situations like these if he wants to mend the damage he's already done.

"You want me to call Libby?" Sans speaks up after an extended silence, and surprisingly enough, you let out an indignant snort at his offer. At first, Sans feels a light stab of annoyance at your attitude, but then you continue with, "There's no point. She wouldn't come even if I begged her to. She takes her job seriously."

As if forgetting that Alan is there, your eyes abruptly flicks up to his face as he speaks, half startled by his sudden interjection. "That's not very considerate of her... You want us to stay with you in the meantime?" Alan offers, causing you to bite your lip as something that looks like excitement flits across your eyes.

 _Hoo. She's really got it bad for Alan, doesn't she?_ Sans thinks in amusement despite not being too surprised by this, Alan _is_ pretty nice after all.

It's obvious you're okay with Alan hanging around- but Sans? He doesn't have to look at you to know how you feel about _him_ tagging along, and spares you the struggle of having to awkwardly explain that.

"Ah, I can't stick around, actually. I've got work in a couple of hours," Sans explains, making your head turn to him in surprise. Sans meets your gaze confidently this time, allowing your eyes continue scan his skull again. You must sense the change in his demeanor... It's obvious from the confusion in your eyes.

"...That's okay, I think I'll be fine on my own. I just want to go home..." You admit, despite Alan still supporting you with his arm around your waist...

At first, Sans has an idea and is just about to offer his teleportation as an option- before he thinks back to the last time he offered you and settles down again, glancing away uncomfortably. No _way_ would you say 'yes' after the prank he pulled to get you to fall for his 'whoopee cushion in the hand' trick...

"Sans, do you think you could...?" You start to ask, causing Sans to lift his head from staring towards the distance and return his eye sockets to you. He's surprised, but makes sure this isn't apparent on his face as he listens intently to you. Hell, he's still surprised by how _much_ he wants to make up for his previous behavior.

You look uncertain, like you don't actually want to be asking him anything, but in the end, you sigh and get on with your query.

"Could you teleport us to our places?" You inquire with a slight pleading in your tone, like you're begging Sans not to make you _walk_ all the way back.

You're lucky that Sans has snapped out of whatever funk was affecting him before.

Sans ever present grin widens a bit, flashing an honest smile your direction. You seem a little unnerved now, but Sans figures it's got to do with his about-face over how he's treating you.

"Sure, Miss Human. Gather 'round," Sans lazily agrees, reaching out for your hand and waiting for you to actually put it in his own bony hand rather than grab it like he'd done the other night. You seem to notice this and give the skeleton a suspicious glare in a position where Alan can't see, but Sans only waggles his brow bones in amusement before reaching out for Alan's hand.

Alan seems confused, but offers his hand anyways. Once he has both of your hands in his, he gently pulls both of you on either side of him and wraps an arm around either of your waists, making you flinch a little with contact in a ticklish area. Automatically, both you and Alan wrap one arm around the back of Sans' ribs and cling to him.

"Hang tight," Sans informs Alan specifically, since it's his first ride...

And before Alan can say another word, the three of you vanish, startling any other humans that were currently staring at the monster the two of you were holding.

* * *

Libby steps out of her office with a sigh of relief, Elizabeth following out after her looking just as exhausted as she closes the door behind them, moving around to stand beside her companion with a deep sigh.

"You okay? They really made things difficult... You'd think they'd have been more placated after everything, you know?" Elizabeth comments, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and yanking one out of the pack calmly. "I almost thought we were gonna lose them... You made sure everything was in order, right?"

"I'm fine and yeah, I double checked everything. We should be good to get on with our-" Libby cuts herself off abruptly, frowning towards the building exit with a raised eyebrow of confusion.

...

"Libby? What's wrong?" Elizabeth queries with a soft look of curiosity, reaching over to run her hands along Libby's shoulders. "You look a little tense... Is something wrong?"

Libby bites her lip, contemplating whether she should say anything to Elizabeth about what she's done...

"...No, everything's fine. How are we moving the supply, by the way?" Libby asks, snapping out of her thoughts and turning to face her bright eyed brunette of a friend. As a result, Elizabeth grins, ecstatic over the attentiveness of Libby.

"We've got a truck in the back set up." Elizabeth gives Libby an appraising look of pride, hands on her hips as emotion fills her soul. She's known Libby for as long as you have, and although not close to you, she's definitely close to Libby as well. She's older, and has watched Libby grow up all the same. "You know... You're going to make the Sterlings proud when you take over everything and stuff. I know you will. You're so strong and intelligent... I bet your mother would be proud."

Libby's face softens with modesty, and she smiles a little. She's touched by this- Elizabeth, although shorter than Libby, knew her mom before she passed away... Back before Libby's dad remarried and everything. She knew her mom was well respected (she still is despite her passing) and the _real_ boss behind the bank and the family line. Libby considers her father lucky to have met such a woman, and the fact that Elizabeth thinks so highly of her when she's met her mother... It really hits her in the pit of her soul.

"You really think so?" Libby asks meekly, causing Elizabeth to grin and nod confidently without a moment's hesitation. The tall blonde's cheeks flush red in response. "Th-thank you..."

The tender moment calls for a hug, which Elizabeth opens her arms for to wrap Libby in a warm embrace before allowing the blonde her escape. "Come on, let's finish up, okay? We can go grab lunch and stuff after we close up the office," Elizabeth encourages Libby, turning to pull open the door as two men enter the building through a back door they only use for this purpose.

As soon as Libby spots them, she quickly wipes her emotional tears away and offers the men a beam when they approach. She has to look her best if what Elizabeth said is true- she _wants_ to make her mother proud... Wherever she's watching from. "Okay, everything's set. Have a safe ride back- and please be careful with the supplies, replacements are _very_ difficult to come across."

One of the men nod and reaches past Libby to open the office door once the women move aside, revealing the shipments and watching the men step in to retrieve them.

The moment they step in, they each grab one taped up package and turn to exit the office.

The first men walks out with a man slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, limbs tied together with zip wire despite his state of unconsciousness. As he dangles, a tooth falls from his mouth, hitting the carpet and leaving a red dot of blood that makes Elizabeth huff with irritation.

"Please don't make a mess, this carpet is expensive to replace too," Elizabeth commands, the sweet tone she reserved for Libby and her family gone and replaced with an icy edge as she glares at the back of the first man making his way to the back exit of the building.

The second man steps out after a suspicious amount of time, and when he does, the figure in his arms squirms wildly- squealing like a pig as she kicks out for any kind of escape. When her eyes land on Libby and Elizabeth, she goes stock still. Her eyes are wide as dinner plates- the ugly makeup now worn stained down her cheeks from the tears and blood of an open cut atop her left cheekbone. Libby _knew_ she would be trouble...

"Maybe we didn't give her a hard enough hit... Figures the lady is tougher though- her toy just keeled over after the first one. I guess we should use something stronger on her" Elizabeth says with an eye roll, walking around after the man adjusts the woman over his shoulder properly, standing purposefully over a rug in the office and waiting for Elizabeth to deal with her.

Upon Elizabeth's approach, the woman squirms a bit more, trying to back up to no avail. It's then that Elizabeth reaches into her blazer pocket and then huffs when she finds nothing there, turning to face Libby. "I'm out of the hard stuff."

Libby just smiles and shakes her head with a good natured eye roll, joining her friend and reaching into her own pocket to pull out a fine yellow dust that spills from her fingers a little. It's got the consistency of flour or cornstarch. At this point, the woman is squealing like a pig again, but the man she's being held by seems unbothered by her wriggling whatsoever.

"Sweet dreams," Libby says with a charming smile, right before throwing the dust over the woman's face and watching in awe as the dust starts glowing upon contact with the woman's skin.

Through her shrill squeals, the glowing dust begins to eat away at her facial skin and muscle, revealing bone as it dissolves the cartilage of her nose first, her upper lip following and a few of her front teeth falling out after her gums begin to recede to the dust. Eventually, the glow begins to settle and leaves the woman lowly moaning in agony around the fabric around her jaw, which has her mouth somewhat forced open around the saliva and blood soaked tie. Honestly, she should be grateful Libby threw the dust at the lower part of her face rather than at her eyes. Throwing it there is _twice_ as painful, as it'll travel up to the brain if tossed there.

"Wow..." Elizabeth breathes as the woman eventually passes out as well, awe coating her features. "...Witchcraft is _awesome."_

Libby snorts at her friends words, allowing the man to take the woman away before turning to face Elizabeth with an exhausted smile.

"You said it... We should probably go fix ourselves up though. Look at us," Libby laughs, taking in the blood and ripped bits of her clothes and running her right hand over a particularly large rip in her sleeve that easily mends when she focuses her attention on the severed fabric. Magic courses through her veins, and after lifting her hand, the rip is completely fixed- like it hadn't been torn in the first place.

"Yeah, this one was a _lot_ tougher. I'm glad I could help! ...You thinking tacos or something?" Elizabeth inquires as she starts to close the other offices around, leaving just Libby's office open.

"Sure, I'm down for anything. I'll clean up real quick and come back, alright? You _sure_ you're okay taking care of the office mess this time?" Libby asks hesitantly, not moving in case her friend needs help. Elizabeth just waves the tall blonde dismissively.

"Begone, I've got it. You can take care of the next mess in three months," Elizabeth huffs as she walks back into Libby's office with some cleaning supplies she extracts from a file drawer nearby.

Libby nods and turns to make her way towards the bathroom, frowning once Elizabeth is out of sight and pulling her purse from the main office to bring to the bathroom with her. The moment she steps in, she pulls a thick brown and black leather bound book from her things, flipping through a couple of pages and setting her other things down by the sink.

Eventually she reaches _that_ page.

The one that was chock full of activated charm spells at work.

Libby frowns as she looks at one specific embedded pink flat quartz among the other sprinkled stones across the right page- resembling the size of approximately a dime. It _should_ be glowing still, a signal that it was working properly on the person she assigned it to. Below this one stone is a name, and many other stones cover the page with names under them, but none are as important as _this_ one.

Right below this now inactive stone reads:

**_...Sans._ **

Libby lets out a soft curse under her breath, glaring at the stone. How did he break through the spell? He isn't the first monster to be stuck under the charm spell's effects, her friends Catty and Bratty have been under since they met two months ago- and from what Libby can see, the charm has been holding strong on _them._ Why was _Sans_ able to break through it? He's no doubt the weakest monster, ever! He's lethargic, he only has **1 HP** , and he may have access to a strong type of magic, but in comparison to the other monsters she's put under the charm spell, he should have been the _last_ to ever break through the spell!

...

Libby makes a face and sighs in annoyance. If he broke through _that_ spell, did he maybe break through any others?

The blonde flips a few pages past the _Charm_ page until she rests on the page of _Discord,_ one page she doesn't use all too often, but has two flat red quartz stones set on the corresponding right page. No surprise, one isn't glowing, and it makes Libby throw her hands up with a groan of frustration. Did she underestimate the skeleton's ability to break free of her spells?

Honestly, only _one_ person has ever managed to break through her spell of discord...

And that it was you, who broke free only seconds after you set eyes on the person who your discord was assigned towards- That deaf lettuce lady or something. She still can't be bothered to remember her name.

Libby still hates how easily you got through it. You'd practically (and without realizing) torn down the spell moments after Libby created it, and it had frustrated Libby to no end- to the point that she avoided you for an entire afternoon and ignored your pleas of concern despite not understanding the circumstances which caused Libby's irritation.

Once Libby has her answer regarding that sensation of a snap she'd felt earlier, she closes her book and shoves it back in her purse furiously, getting started with her personal clean up as she looks at her reflection in the mirror.

Her cheeks are flushed a little more than usual- likely from her anger and previous exertion of force to get the horrible rich couple to comply and allow Libby and Elizabeth to tie them up without making _too_ much of a mess. Of course, that didn't go too well... Resulting in ripped clothing, bruises, and the disheveled birds nest atop her head at the current moment.

Libby snorts unattractively and starts to fix her hair, pulling a brush out to run the bristles through her light locks. She knows she's pretty- lots of people whistle at her whenever she's out. Boys ask for her number regularly... The thing Libby _can't_ understand, is why she needs to use a _goddamned_ spell just to get _Sans_ to look at her the way she wants him to.

...

Libby's phone vibrates, and she pulls it out of her purse with a raised eyebrow once she is done admiring her reflection.

_'The delivery has been made'._

Libby turns off her phone and looks up at the mirror again, noticing a thin cut along the bottom of her right jaw line. When she sees this, she places a finger along the upper end of the cut and promptly drags it down the cut, sealing it good as new with just a little nudging of her magic.

Once it's sealed, she gives one of her usual fake work smiles to her reflection.

 _Well, at least_ something _is going right today..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHH!! This is later than I expected- but I GOT IT DONE and it's STILL FRIDAY! *party favors, party favors everywhere*
> 
> Although... I can't say I'm actually all too confident about this chapter. I mean, I got everything I planned down... I'm just kind of worried I didn't describe things to the best of my abilities? I don't know :3 I hope you guys like it though. It's 3,000 more words than the usual 7,000 word count mark I usually like to reach...
> 
> Also, if you haven't yet, feel free to take a look at the links below! (Especially that sassy art from Metamaterialgirl~)
> 
> Links~:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)


	24. Familiar Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alan is adorable, Papyrus is Adorable, Sans is an annoying (albeit less threatening) skele-clod, and a family friend you barely know stumbles into your life.

Chapter 24: Familiar Stranger

You _really_ like Alan Barrett. Your crush on him has been ongoing for a while now and although you never spoke to him way back in high school since you were a naturally quiet girl (and didn't have a crush on him at the time), you still studied him from afar anyways. From what he said the day he was speaking to Papyrus in class, however, it appears he was studying _you_ back.

...You're still not sure what that means. He might just be really nice with a platonic crush on you... Or he might possibly be interested in something _more_ than friendship.

Honestly, you _really_ adore Alan...

But not even your crush on him can stop you from nearly falling over in a fit of giggles besides Sans when the three of you land in front of a bunch of Apartment complexes. You immediately recognize them as the same complexes in which you, Undyne, and Alphys previously picked Papyrus up from the day you were released from the hospital.

Of course, your thoughts on this- like _why_ Sans has brought you and Alan to _his_ place- is completely quashed when Alan's expression becomes momentarily listless... And he suddenly pitches backwards from Sans, landing spectacularly on his ass while you and Sans snicker in amusement.

Alan, as good natured as he is, shoots the two of you a dirty look, but he fails to really put the look to effect when a smile crawls over his features.

"I get how Sans can laugh, but I dove into the _ocean_ for you, (Name). A little gratitude wouldn't hurt!" Alan says with a playful grin, prompting you to halt your giggles as you turn away when heat of color visibly floods under your skin. As it is, Alan takes his turn to momentarily chuckle before looking back at the apartment complexes, confusion slowly growing over his features as he stares up at the gated structure before himself.

"So, Sans... How'd you know that I lived here?" Alan seems to realize, turning to look at the skeleton in question with you. While Alan has this inquisitive expression across his features, you instead have this suspicious look aimed towards Sans.

 _Yeah, Sans! Why_ do _you know where Alan lives?_ You sass in the back of your mind, unaware of the expression on your face as you cross your arms and stare at Sans. Considering this has got to do with _Alan_ , your crush, you're not about to let this slide or anything. Sans seems to notice this look you're giving him, but other than a mildly mirthful grin, he refocuses his attention on Alan again- allowing his grin to settle into a leisurely smile.

"Saw you lurkin' around the complexes once while helping Paps with the laundry," Sans answers lazily, causing you to leer sharply in his direction with a scowl of disbelief. Oh _yeah, right!_

_No doubt Sans wasn't doing shit to help Papyrus wash... Lazy ass Skele-skum!_

"You mean while you were _watching_ Papyrus do the laundry...?" You can't help but grumble rather pointedly, only further irritated when you find that your words don't visibly faze him like you want them to. Instead, Sans just grins straight at you and replies, "Yeeeep."

 _Does he feel_ no guilt _over making his brother a house maid?!_

"How considerate of you... _Slave driver,"_ you mutter the last part under your breath with a sour expression of distaste, only to look away and dart towards Alan's side immediately when Sans turns to look at you.

Thankfully (and surprisingly), his eye lights haven't vanished like they usually do when he's trying to threaten you with your life. Yet... Nor does his left eye light flare to life in response to a change in his temperament. Actually, his behavior is just _completely_ different from before- like he's done a straight up one-eighty on his personality.

Sans is grinning in amusement when you peek back over at him from behind Alan's protective form, who is looking down at you with innocent confusion as you lift his arm to look at the skeleton ahead of the two of you. Alan appears confused by your use of him as a shield- but you don't try to explain it. It's not like Sans is a homicidal racist to _him,_ he's only this way towards _you._.. Though maybe you should let Alan know to never mess with Papyrus so that this kind of behavior from Sans is never transferred towards him instead.

Yeah, that's probably a good idea...

"If you're going to try and shame me over something, the least you could do is stand your ground as you do it..." Sans chuckles, winking a little too _playfully_ to be normal. It makes you shiver with... Something. All you know is that you don't like it and it's _definitely_ creepy coming from him of all people. In response to his wink though, you glare but stick closer to Alan's side. "Also, it's very sweet of you to jump up to my bro's defense like that."

Just like that, your cheeks turn cherry red once more, 'cause even _you_ can't argue against how it sounds. You got moody over the fact that Sans is too lazy to help his brother. So maybe you want to give monsters a chance- but come on, if you let everything out like that and shit too quickly, they're going to assume you've just been lying to yourself this entire time! And they you'll be ridiculed by Undyne even more!

HELL NAW!

"Sh-shut up," you huff with a snarl, turning away in frustration- only for your eyes to widen a bit when you catch Alan laughing quietly to himself at your expense. Your embarrassment only sky rockets even higher at that point, and rather than stay standing there in your humiliation, you abruptly turn around on your heel to leave.

"W-wait, (Name)!" Alan blurts out, grabbing hold of you wrist just as you're moving to turn away and walk off, spinning you back around towards him with that usual sweet smile of his that always manages to stop your heart in its tracks and wipe its ability to beat in a correctly even rhythm. You stare up at him wide eyed, unsure of what to do since you've been spun  _literally_ into his arms, one of his hands around your wrist and the other resting comfortably around your waist as he meets your gaze with his satin brown eyes. "Don't go yet, I'm sorry! You're just so cute when you get all huffy like that."

 ** _BAYUM!_** Suddenly, your face is so warm that things are starting to get a little dizzy. After that dive off of the pier, your head has stopped throbbing so much and all areas of pain have gotten noticeably better. This current dizzy spell? _All_ the work of Alan and his far too saintly existence.

You're about ready to hide for the hills when he laughs and pulls you in a hug you are _so_ not ready for, resting his strong jaw atop your head as you stand there trying to comprehend reality once more. You're awake, right? No way this dude jumped off a pier for you, and _no **way** is he **holding you in his arms** like this- omg he has a jaw line for **days** \- who is this man and where the hell did he come fro-?!_

"I think you broke her," you hear Sans say somewhere behind Alan, snapping you out of your stupor enough to wriggle away from Alan abruptly for some needed space and relief. You stand a few feet away from Alan now, who is watching you innocently and scanning your face as you turn away from them to breathe. Your skin feels like someone lit it on fire, and you're reasonably drained from such intense emotions of sheer delight, but you don't try to run away anymore.

 _Whew... Thank_ god _he's not trying to pull me close again. Maybe I'd let him if_ Sans _weren't here observing every little thing we do with a magnifying glass at hand._

"Nothing to be ashamed about. Papyrus would be proud of you if he were here," Sans speaks again, much to your annoyance. Why does he have to open that annoying mouth of his all the time?! What, he can't shut up or something? Someone needs to unhinge his jaw for a couple of hours!

_"MISS HUUUUMAAN!"_

You let out a squeal of unexpected bewilderment as someone grabs you and lifts you high in the air by your waist, professionally flipping your legs forward and up to deftly slip an arm underneath your knees. Before you register anything on what's going on, you find that someone is holding you in full on bridal style, high enough that you're able to look down at Sans from where you're held. By the time you've settled and you're being swung up like a rag doll, you're clinging to the person holding you like they're you're only life line.

"Oh look, Papyrus is here," Sans adds in casually moments after, as if having expected his tall brother to make an appearance at this exact moment or something. You glare straight at him from the arms of Papyrus, like a cat trapped in the arms of a far too affectionate owner.

"Nyeh heh heh! Indeed, it is I! The Great Papyrus, here to greet Miss Human and Sir Human after my surveillance of the kitchen window! When I saw you two here, I had to give my greetings!" Papyrus declares with a delighted grin of satisfaction, chin held high until he turns to look at your crush. Once he's in front of Alan, Papyrus sets you back down beside him to then grab Alan's wrist, yanking your human crush into a familiar hug with a smile.

For a second, your expression becomes awash with alarm- thinking Alan may not be cuddly enough to accept such a warm hug from another male (wait... Just _which one_ of them are you worried for?!). Much to your surprise however, just as you anticipate the moment shit will hit the fan- either by Alan stepping back from the hug or even possibly _swatting_ Papyrus for getting to touchy (hey, you like Alan, but you don't see him enough around his other male friends to be able to determine if he's just softer around you because you're a girl)- Alan hugs the tall skeleton back unabashedly with an equally large smile, making you physically relax at the sight and blow out a quiet breath of relief.

You're not sure what you were worried for more- Alan pummeling Papyrus and making Papyrus sad, or Alan pummeling Papyrus and making Sans kill him on sight... Or maybe you were worried about the possibility that Alan may not be the Alan you know and love when he's around other _boys_.

Either way, it appears Alan is a saint to everyone regardless of what kind of person they are.

Delighted at the "bromantic" vibes you're getting from the two, a silly little smile curls across your lips. In fact, this display makes you a little _too_ happy... But you really can't help how you feel towards it. Look at Alan and his cute smile, he's so _adorable~!_

"Any wider and you'll divide your head in two hemispheres..."

The sound of Sans' deep baritone voice whispering by your ear- a friendly reminder of his completely _unwanted_ presence- snaps you completely out of your smitten state to spin around and exchange your smile for a glare of annoyance. He's standing much closer to you than you're comfortable with, much to your utter dismay, but you don't step away from him.

No, if your memory serves you well (and it does), when you tried _that_ yesterday, the dumb bone head only scooted closer every freaking time you took a step back from him.

So, yeah.

Fuck that shit.

"Erm... While it _is_ wonderful to be in both of your soft, fleshy presences... Why are the three of you all wet and reeking of fresh sea tea?" Papyrus inquires after releasing Alan from his hug, glancing down at his now dampened pink MTT shirt and brown shorts with a less than pleased raise of his brow bone.

 _What the heck is sea tea?_ You wonder as you look down at your soaked clothing and then look over at Alan's, the human male standing in a casual position beside Papyrus and simply pulling at his tight gray muscle shirt curiously to wring a few drops of water out.

Your gaze momentarily glues itself to the surprisingly well toned abdominals of Alan Barrett as he lifts his top a bit to get some more water out, giving you a very nice peep show of the start of his 'V' line and freckled skin underneath. He's verbally asking the same question you thought about moments before regarding sea tea, biceps flexing to the movement of wringing out his clothing.

 _Oh my god, he's got freckles there_ too...! _...A little higher, Alan, come on..._

You nearly jump out of your skin when you hear someone deeply chuckle beside you, and your face dusts bright red at being caught in the act of checking your crush out. Rather than let him continue to tease you, you face Sans and cross your arms with a moody scowl despite your flustered state.

Sans only grins more at the look on your face, and your fingers twitch with the urge to flip him the bird. In fact, you're so busy mad dogging Sans that Papyrus explanation of sea tea is lost on your ears, flying completely over your head as you stare  Sans down and allow your blush to completely diminish.

"So why _are_ you three covered in salt water?" Papyrus presses once more, though you're far too busy dealing with Sans to look at either him or Alan, glaring at San's easygoing grin and insinuatingly waggling brow bones as he looks from you to Alan and back with his eye lights. Not that you're worried of Alan noticing, considering he's likely _well aware_ of your crush after Undyne practically spelled it out to him at school yesterday.

Sans' jacket is damp on either side of him from having held you and Alan close for teleportation purposes, but he appears to care very little- if not at all- about it, considering the way he stands there, leaning against that fire hydrant trying to act like he's the coolest thing since ice trays were invented.

_Stupid Sans..._

"Well bro, things were going **swimmingly** until Miss Human and Sir Human both decided to go for a quick wash. I was a bit **salty** that I couldn't dive in with them- what with being a skeleton and all- but it's okay. I'm **shore** they didn't mean any harm by it," Sans replies, speaking louder for his brother to hear him, but never deviating his gaze from yours. At this, you raise a questioning brow at him, but he just gives you this innocent expression and shrugs in response. This only irritates you further.

"Sans, now is _not_ the time! And for goodness sake, don't ruin the humans with your incessant punning! I have to deal with enough of it coming from _you!"_ Papyrus retorts dramatically with a groan of exacerbated frustration, not even hesitating to scold his brother for his puns.

" **Clam** down, Paps, don't let it **sink** your mood- it's all good," Sans adds laziliy, looking rather proud of the louder groan that flies past Papyrus' teeth. "NO IT IS NOT, BROTHER!"

Alan laughs a little, causing Papyrus to snap his neck in you crush's direction with a twitch of his eye socket. At this point, your temper has simmered down a bit, and you finally look away from Sans.

"Human, I insist that you do not entertain his efforts," Papyrus huffs to Alan "quietly", making the freckled male wipe the smile from his face to seriously nod up at Papyrus in agreement... and then smile again once Papyrus is looking at you and Sans once more.

"Aw, don't be that way, bro. **Water** you talking about anyways? My entertainment's got a **seal** of guaranteed satisfaction."

Papyrus throws his gloved hands up to grab his skull and 'NYEEH!' loudly up into the sky, right before returning his gaze down to glare at Sans and-

"MISS HUMAN, you're _smiling!_ Cease your enthusiasm this instant, Sans' puns are not worth losing your standards over!" The tall skeleton suddenly blurts out.

You weren't even _aware_ you were snickering or smiling, but as soon as Papyrus points this out, you clap a hand over your mouth and give Sans a less than enthused glare. Guaranteed Satisfaction your _ass..._

Unfortunately, the damage is already done, and Sans looks twice as pleased as he had when it was only his brother reacting to his puns.

"Um... If I may interject here, why are you so against puns, Pap?" Alan dares to ask, running a hand through his wet hair. In seconds, Papyrus is whirling back around to face him with a dramatic gasp of offense, red scarf swinging in the air as he spins and covering his face once he stops to face Alan. Your crush laughs at the sight a bit, but the skeleton quickly pulls the scarf out of his face to properly make eye contact.

"Human, you need some proper education, and _I will give you this education right now,"_ Papyrus states too seriously to keep you from holding on to your straight face. You resist the urge like an animal though, and turn away so you're not temped to laugh.

Unfortunately, this means facing Sans again... Aaaand he's still grinning at you.

"Well, we should probably get you back, Miss Human. So-" Sans starts, pushing off of the fire hydrant on the sidewalk to straighten up until you cut him off with a huffy grunt of distaste and immediately sign, **"I'll walk."** Surprised by this sudden development, Sans seems to visibly shut down (if his eye lights dilating to the sizes of pin pricks is any indication), giving you the perfect opportunity to step around him to leave while Paps busily educates Alan on the woeful misery repetitive usage of puns bring upon people.

Alan looks like he's noticed that something is happening between you and Sans, but other than a few peeks your way, he seems unwilling to leave Papyrus. Likely because he doesn't want to hurt Papyrus' feelings by suddenly just walking away in the middle of his teachings.

 **"Wait,"** Sans signs as he suddenly reappears in your path, looking a bit panicked much to your confusion. You raise your hands and start to automatically sign, **"Is something wrong?"** before stopping mid-sign and dropping your hands in exasperation. To your immense relief, Sans does not ridicule you for this, and just goes ahead raising a fist to confirm your unfinished query.

 **"Yeah, there is something wrong. You're going to get yourself sick by walking home, and then make my brother sad when you're unable to go on that date with him later. Please let me take you back so you don't catch a cold,"** Sans signs quickly, his signs placating you as you make sense of them in your peripheral vision. His eye lights never waver from yours, which you appreciate considering a lot of sign has to do with watching the other person's expressions while they sign.

You half _hate_ that you care so much about the fate of your "friendly" date with Papyrus, but the voice in the back of your mind continues to chant, _"give them a chance, give them a chance."_

...Guess giving monsters a chance also means giving Sans a bit of a chance too then, doesn't it?

... _UGH!_ Fine. He has a damn good point, and you _don't_ want to get sicker than you already appear to be. Your only saving grace is that it's gone for the moment, but who _knows_ if it'll come back. You should probably go see a doctor about it if it gets out of hand again.

You relent to Sans' wishes, letting out a heavy sigh to show your displeasure over agreeing. When you hold your hand out to Sans, his grin loosens to something less tense and more natural. He shifts closer and takes hold of your hand with his larger and bonier one, but before he can pull you to his side again, Alan calls out your name.

 _"(Name)!"_ You turn back towards his general direction, hyper aware of San's hand holding yours in his surprisingly comfortable grip as he waits for whatever Alan wants regarding you. You can feel his carpals and metacarpals move as he shifts his grip around your hand, enough that you skin tingles at the strange feeling of skin against bone. It's strange and unfamiliar... But not all that unpleasant over all.

It's not much, but Alan gives you a wave with Papyrus, making a gesture of... texting?

...Texting on the phone? Alan wants you to text him?

...

Oh my GOD, HE WANTS YOU TO TEXT HIM~!

That stupid smile from before is back _full force._

You nod and wave back a little too dreamily to be normal, but other than a cute laugh, Alan just waves again.

...And then Papyrus blurts out, "See you later for our date, Miss Human~!" Causing a sudden outburst of different reactions from everyone in relation to his uttered words as a result.

Alan’s expression shifts to contort into shock as he turns and looks up at Papyrus, visibly flabbergasted by the news. _“HUH?!”_

Papyrus, noticing Alan’s change in behavior, looks down at him curiously in response. “Huh?”

The dreamy smile currently stuck to your face soon vanishes as the implications of what Papyrus has blurted out hit you, causing your smile to become stiff with horror and your eyes to widen with absolute horror. “Huh…?”

Sans only raises a brow bone with a look of amusement, watching the colorful contrasting emotions across everyone’s faces. “Huh.”

Before you can say anything to assure Alan that you’re not _actually_ dating Papyrus until the end of time- Sans yanks you to his side and your world goes flip-flop with a powerful **Pop!**

The moment you both land in your living room, you whirl on Sans with a sharp glare. Rather than look guilty or anything, Sans just turns to take a look at your home curiously, as if he’s never been in there before. Somehow you _highly_ doubt that though, and narrow your eyes to let him know he isn’t fooling you with his innocent look of wonder. Heck, how _else_ did he get that stupid trash tornado in your room?!

“I wasn’t done yet,” you complain, watching him shrug in reply once he turns back to your completely displeased face and stance.

“Whoops. It’s cool, you can tell your human whatever it is you wanted to tell him later when Pap isn’t around to hear,” Sans states both nonchalantly, yet deliberately. You immediately understand what he means and roll your eyes at his accusation.

“I wasn’t going to say _that._ You know, you’re not helping your case much if you’re honestly looking for forgiveness,” you huff, turning away to walk over to the kitchen and get yourself a glass of water before you jump in the shower. ‘Cause seriously, like _hell_ you’re jumping in when Sans is still in the house with his teleporting-Houdini abilities.

…Not that him leaving the house would be able to stop him from being able to teleport in the bathroom or anything, but damn it, it’ll make you _feel_ better if you watch him LEAVE.

“Are you kidding me? You were _totally_ going to say it. Did you even notice the ridiculous faces you were making to Alan the entire time we were there?” Sans replies in response, causing you to bite your lip as you keep your back to him.

“…No…” You grumble, but turn to face him again once you have your glass at hand. Your cheeks are tingling and buzzing with the urge to heat up, but you attempt to busy your body with drinking water to distract it from committing.

“Exactly. It’s not like I was threatening you this time either…” Sans adds, sounding just a tad bit guiltier than he originally had when he tried to apologize earlier this morning before biology. Your eyes catch the expressions on his face through the water in your transparent glass, magnifying it enough to make out the actual honesty in his words as you pull the glass away and set it down on the counter beside you.

“…What made you change your mind about me?” You query after a beat of silence, grateful that he’s keeping his distance now that you’ve both arrived here and are alone together. Your words seem to catch Sans off guard, and his cheekbones dust a dim layer of blue that your eyes immediately zero in on. Why is he blushing?

“W-well… Don’t get mad, but… I’m not really sure? I noticed I was behaving very weird and everything, but I didn’t really think _much_ of it until today… I kind of just realized I was being a completely irrational dick and... I just kind of woke myself up and snapped out of it. Besides, even though you hate monsters, you’re not exactly a bad person,” Sans starts saying, causing your eyes to narrow on him suspiciously. He sounds so _sure_ about that last part… In response to your suspicious stare, Sans leers right back and gives you a look. “No, I did _not_ look at your soul to figure that out. I made that observation from watching you all on my own.”

 _Yeah, you’d better have, ‘cause if you looked at my soul, I’d totally-_ Wait. _Hold the phone,_ you think before suddenly realizing something rather innocuous in what he’s just admitted.

“You’ve been watching me?” You drop easily, acutely eyeing him for some kind of a reaction from being caught. Sans visibly stiffens up, though you admit you wouldn't have noticed if you weren't watching him so closely. After a couple of seconds, he relaxes once more and frowns a bit, averting his gaze down to those stupid pink fluffy slippers of his (why does he wear those things?).

"I've been doing a lot of questionable things the past few days..." Sans openly admits, prompting your glare to intensify.

"...I see," you say cryptically, pushing your glass of water further into the counter and walking on over to the living room to take a seat on one of the couches. Looking back at Sans, he seems frozen in his spot, but a quick nod of your head to the other couch next to where you're sitting, he finally walks over and sits down.

You scowl a little at the way he plops down in a slouch, legs completely extended enough to see his patella, tibia, and fibula as he rests them on the coffee table in front of him. For a second, you want to bark at him to not mess with Libby's beloved things (as your tall blonde best friend has once scolded you for doing the same as Sans is currently doing), but considering the last couple of days, you just lean back and meet Sans' lazy gaze.

The silence stretches for a few minutes until both you and Sans settle down. As soon as a calm atmosphere falls over the living room, you open your mouth to speak- but Sans beats you to it.

"I really am sorry for everything," he says from where he slouches, looking less lazed and more anxious as he shifts his gaze to his slippers once more. You get it- he realized he was going overboard and put a stop to it... You still don't forgive him though. He needs to do more than just this mouth work.

...Maybe _then_ you'll consider forgiving him.

"...Do you know anything other than ASL sign language?" You finally ask, causing Sans to shift and sit up as soon as you open your mouth. He looks like he knows what you're talking about... Did Papyrus already speak to him about it?

"Maybe," he answers, causing you to frown a little at the cryptic reply he gives. What, he doesn't wanna tell you? Jerk. He really is _not_ helping his case. "Why do you ask, Miss Human?"

You turn to rest your legs across the couch you're sitting on, glaring at Sans pointedly. "Something tells me you already know why- and I _really_ hope it's because you heard it from your brother..." You retort, watching his grin widen a bit at your words.

"Well... Go ahead and ask me then," Sans encourages you, eye lights flicking in your direction auspiciously as he grins full on at your uneasy expression. "I've got some brownie points to win from you, don't I?"

On cue, a small and long dragging _mew_ fills the air, and before you can start looking around for the source, Sans reaches down and pulls Libby's small kitten over his stomach with a wink in your direction, letting the kitten knead and purr over his blue jacket.

Although you'd _never_ admit it out loud, watching the dangerous skeleton monster stroke the small head of the kitten with one phalange is actually a very cute sight altogether. Considering this, you snap yourself out of watching to ask, "How'd you know her name was Brownie...?"

Sans blinks in surprise, turning his attention away from the kitten once more. "It is? Oh, cool," Sans snickers, causing you to scowl even more at him. "I guess that counts as a pun then, doesn't it?"

"Do you _ever_ get tired of puns?" You demand, crossing your arms as you turn over to rest belly down on the couch, arms cradling your chin over the arm rest of the sofa so you can see Sans.

"S'nope," he answers shortly, grinning as he returns to waving his fingers over the kitten, causing it to try and swat him with its tiny little paws. Midst the silence, save for the kitten meowing at Sans hand and Sans chuckling every time the kitten gets too close, you soon find yourself admitting... This is kind of nice. If Sans had been like this to _begin_ with... You probably wouldn't find him as irritating as you do right now.

...

_Stupid monsters._

_..._

"Is there something on my face, or what?" Sans suddenly asks, making you vaguely aware of his eye lights completely on you as the kitten struggles to regain the skeleton's attention once more. You wake up from your day dreams to blink a little in confusion, prompting Sans to grin a little more at your expense before slowly informing you, "You were staring at me."

...

You hide your cheeks behind your arms to hide your embarrassment over being caught doing something unintentional, well aware that it probably looked like you were admiring the appearance of Sans' face from afar. Which, of course, you were _not_ doing. You were thinking about how _dumb_ monsters are.

Exhibit A- the monster on the couch ahead of you.

However, you refuse to continue to let yourself veer off track any more than you already have. This information is important, and you need answers if you want to be of help to Undyne and those Froggits.

Before you can say anything, Sans suddenly collects the mewling kitten in his arms and walks over to where you're laying. His abrupt movements shatter the calm atmosphere, and you jerk back against the couch you're on, scrambling to sit up in case he's changed his mind about being nicer to you.

Sans looks a little guilty by your reaction, but dumps the kitten in your arms before you can snap at him for getting in your personal space after everything he's done. Honestly though, it's not like he's even _that_ close, he's only a few feet away, enough to hand over your kitten before straightening up and stepping back again. You relax significantly as he does this.

"I'll be right back. I've got a book that might help. It's kind of old, but it should tell you everything about _that_ kind of sign you need to know," Sans states, waiting until you nod before he smiles once more, gives you a salute with two fingers, and then blips right out of existence with a **Pop!**

You almost feel guilty for making Sans feel bad about his previous behavior, but a quick reminder or two and you wave it off. Shit, what do _you_ feel sorry for? He threatened you! He locked you out of a house in the middle of the night! HE WAS A TOTAL SHIT TO YOU!

...Yeah, you don't feel so guilty anymore.

** Knock-knock-knock! **

You jerk in surprise at the sound of a rather frantic knocking on your front door, making you scramble up to see who it is-

-Until the door is _literally_ kicked open out of its frame to let the visitor in.

Half of you thinks, _Oh great, UNDYNE is back,_ but when you see that it's a _human_ stepping through the doorway, you go stock still in surprise. For a second, you suspect your place is being broken into, but then you realize you recognize the woman hurrying over to you, mascara beginning to smear under her eyes with the tears escaping her eyes. You don't know the light brown haired figure in a dirtied white dress all too well, but you recognize her from the many visits to Libby's parent's place. She visits frequently with her family, from what you know, but she doesn't have a great reputation among the family friends of the Sterlings.

 _"(Name)!"_ You barely make out your name in her blubbering as she races over to you, throwing her arms around you and pressing her face against the hollow of your neck as she begins to lose her balance, making you squeak when the two of you land on the ground, the young woman clinging to you like a damn near life line. She's saying something you can't understand through her tears, gasping and sniffing.

This woman, who you barely really know, is named Halley Silverod. Although you don't know her personally, you know bits and pieces about her from the large family gatherings during the midwinter recitals Libby has. Apparently, she's twenty-seven and has chosen to be a spinster by nature, but she's got a massive issue with gambling and smoking. You've never really even _wanted_ to get to know her for that reason, but... Even _you_ can't ignore the desperate tears she sheds as she clings to you.

"...I can't understand you, what is it? What's wrong?" You ask after a good few seconds of failing to interpret her words by ear. She sniffles and continues to cling to you, whimpering and trying to catch her breath. It seems to escape her every time she goes quiet.

"I-I-I lost ev-verything...! I'm goi-ng bankrupt, a-and I don't know what to do...!" She sobs, causing her words become harder to understand as her fragile state begins to shake once more with what you can only imagine to be fear. "Th-they're going to... Th-they...!"

She's breathing in so hard that you're worried she'll hurt herself, and you help her get comfortable on the ground to catch her breath. You have an idea of what's going on now, but rather than scold her for her choices, you choose to help her calm down first. No point in making her feel worse, you're not a monster...

...

...And that is a _very_ _dumb_ connotation, considering monsters are not as monstrous as you initially thought.

 _She must have lost all her money gambling it away or something,_ you think, settling her nerves by running your fingers through her tangled waves.

After a minute or two, she speaks with a clearer voice- still mildly laden with sniffs and hiccups. "P-please don't tell anyone... I don't know wh-who else to go to..."

Halley sounds so despondent and hopeless that you can't help but nod wordlessly, despite not really understanding. Why wouldn't she tell at least her parents? She's going to need help from _somebody_ if she's lost all her money. She's was a professional model, but if you heard correctly, she recently quit a month or so ago? That's a lot of money she lost, considering she was practically swimming in it only earlier this year...

"I won't... But shouldn't you at least get help from your parents?" You suggest, making Halley sniffle and hug you tighter.

It's strange to be talking to her, when the family friends of the Sterlings usually just pretend you're invisible, since you're not _actually_ a Sterling by blood. It's your last name, yeah, but that's apparently not enough to warrant you the same respect. Everyone your age hangs around with Libby, even though she drags you everywhere anyways, but no one ever goes up to talk to you specifically- save for Libby's step mother, who practically shoves you in everyone's face to brag about how talented and well brought up you are because of her efforts. She favors you, and Libby's father favors Libby. It's how it's always been, and you suspect her step mom likes you more because the two of you were brought into the family yourselves- her as Libby's dad's husband, and you as Libby's companion or sister.

"They w-wouldn't care... They'll just do th-the same as everyone else..." She breathes, reaching up to wipe the underside of her eye and laugh humorlessly at the smeared make up on the side of her hand. "I look horrible, d-don't I?"

You bite your lip, refusing to answer.

"You can use my bathroom to clean yourself up if you want. I'll leave out something comfortable for to wear when you get out, okay?" You relent to the need to help the pitiful woman, giving her smile despite the confusion swirling in your stomach. You really hope this isn't some kind of gyp to get some money from you and Libby, but at the same time, you're willing to risk it if she really _does_ need help.

Libby's step mom always said that you shouldn't turn away close family friends- and Halley Silverod is as close as family friends get. You don't really like Libby's step mom, not as much as _she_ likes you, but you figure it's best to listen to her considering she's dealt with your presence since Libby got her and her dad to take you in as a child.

Halley hiccups a little as you stand, helping her up and escorting her wobbly legs over to your room. You notice she's only wearing one shoe- and it's one of those tall white platform style Mary Janes. As a result, her walking is a bit wonky and awkward, until you reach your room and sit her down to help her take the thing off.

"Alright, so there's shampoo and conditioner already in there... You can use one of the new sponges from under the sink... And I already have a new towel hanging by the tub in there. I'm going to use Libby's bathroom in the meantime, but if you need anything, feel free to holler or come get me. If you need to stay here for a while, I'll talk to Libby and we can see what we can do, okay? As far as anyone needs to know, you're not here and we don't know where you are," you comfort the woman, who is clearly older than you, but currently looks as frail as a young girl. She smiles sadly at your words and reaches up to wipe her eyes more, only smearing her make up more.

"Y-you're really nice... Thank you, (Name)," she sniffs, staring down at the shoe in her hands as you wait for her to say something else like you suspect she will. "Um... I wish I... I wish I spoke to you more often before when we were kids. I won't forget this."

You smile and nod in response, only then turning away to walk out of your room and close the door behind you. Unsurprisingly, Sans is in the living room already with a book at hand, but you frown a little and give him a look of confusion, signing, **"I didn't hear you...?"**

He raises a brow bone towards the door behind you, but you wave his look off. It's not anything he needs to worry about, after all.

 **"I have the book,"** he eventually signs with a soft sigh, holding up a very old looking graph notebook chock full of wrinkled pages full of content and sticky notes sticking out of every corner and side.

You walk on over to him, though you slow down a bit when you're a few feet away. You're still to wary of him to approach any closer, so Sans leans forward and hands it to you with a bit of a smile, allowing your fingers to brush his as you take it from him.

 **"This is where I learned it from. Other than that notebook, I don't have anything else to say about the Super Secret Brother Language,"** Sans comments, grinning a little more when you resist the urge to snicker at the stupid name he's given the signing you'd seen from Static in your dream. In your attempt to quell the laugh, you slap a hand over your mouth.

 **"Alright, whatever,"** you respond, before Sans straightens up again.

 **"I'm leaving now,"** he informs you, promptly shoving one hands in his pocket with one last wink before signing in a single hand, **"Don't be late for the date with Paps."**

You roll your eyes but nod, watching him blink out of the space in front of you, leaving you holding the notebook he's given you with all the information on the Super Secret... Ugh, that is _so_ stupid. Anyways, you won't be able to read that right now since you have a date to get ready for, but...

With an expression of concern, you glance back at your bedroom door- the sound of a shower running in the house. Will she be okay here by herself? What if Libby gets here and drills her on what's wrong before she's ready to elaborate? That'll only scare her away...

...You can tell her before you leave to lock your bedroom door. Usually that's enough of a message for Libby to understand you want your alone time. Even if you two _are_ still technically in a bit of a fight.

 _Alright, but what about this?_ You think, looking at the notebook in your hands. Maybe you should have asked for it _after_ the date with Papyrus... You don't want Libby mistaking it for trash or anything, especially since it belongs to Sans. What if you ruin it and he ends up losing his temper again? And, like, tries killing you _for real?_

_..._

With that in mind, you shove the notebook in a gap between the back of the sofa and the speaker in the furthest most top corner of the living room, right by the litter box. You know for _sure_ Libby would never approach this area. Especially since it's near the litter box.

For wanting that kitten so much, she is a _really_ irresponsible pet owner...

You clap your hands together with a smile and hurry on over to Libby's room to take that shower of yours, tossing your wet shirt off as you make your way to your best friend's bathroom for a well deserved wash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take a deep breath... And exhale. This chapter is your breath of fresh air.
> 
> The next will play on the setup of this chapter, huehuehue~ If anything seems ODD... *cackles*
> 
> Hint: DATING. START.
> 
> Also, GUESS WHAT?! :D Miss Metamaterialgirl has graced this story with yet ANOTHER wonderful, magnificent piece of art~! *screeches of glee* Every time I look at the two art pieces she's made, I feel my heart melt on the inside like warm chocolate fudge.  
> Please send her some love for her hard work~! She's a wonderful person and she's an amazing artist, so go support her mad skillz!!
> 
> Below are dem links, along with Meta's new artwork!:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)


	25. Dating STA- Oh no!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halley takes care of the house while you attend your date with Papyrus~! Dating START! ...Right?

Chapter 25: Dating STA- Oh no!

"...Do you need any help with that?"

You look up from your vanity mirror to see Halley, the family friend (more like family stranger) you'd recently allowed into your home, standing at the doorway between the bathroom and your bedroom. At the current moment, you've just been caught trying to French braid your long hair via an online tutorial video, but considering Halley's small laugh and smile as she tries to muffle her amusement, you must be doing it _very_ wrong.

With a sigh of resignation, you drop your arms and nod, pausing the video on your small laptop as she approaches you where you're seated at the corner of your bed in front of a vanity mirror.

Halley had taken a near _hour and a half_ in the shower, and you were a bit worried something had maybe happened- either a slip in the shower or maybe something a little more _intentional._ Seeing her walk over to you in one of the bathrobes you've lent her, looking a lot cleaner than she had coming in the house, has the invisible tension in your muscles immediately relaxing as you situate yourself to sit in a position where she can reach your hair with ease.

You're half ready for your date with Papyrus already, wearing a short length casual teal colored short-sleeved dress with a chocolate brown weaved belt and woven three inch heeled matching chocolate brown sandals that cover most of your ankles. Your only issue is your hair, but in regards to everything else, you're practically set to walk straight out the door right now.

Either way, Papyrus will be here soon. You're kind of nervous for some reason, but you're still not sure why. Maybe because you're absolutely positive that however this date with Papyrus goes, it will reflect on whether Sans (and maybe even Undyne??) will change their minds about you.

...Somehow, this bothers you. Isn't your solitude what you _wanted_ though? It's not like you're going to give them a chance _forever_ , right? This is their chance to make a good impression on you- or namely for _Papyrus_ to show you why monsters are worth your time... Or maybe why you find yourself questioning your previous bigotry as of now (which _has_ to be as scary as things can possibly get).

"You're going on a date, aren't you?" Halley inquires with a slightly forced smile- like she's trying to be upbeat for your sake. She gathers some of the upper portion of your hair while waiting for you to answer, and you release a noise of both confirmation and annoyance as a result.

It's while she begins the braid that you feel a sharp pain above each of your temples. You wince slightly, but say nothing due to your understanding that it's just your earlier headache (unfortunately) returning for round two and _not_ a result of her maybe pulling on your hair too hard... Which is why you've taken precautions by shoving a small bottle of migraine and headache pills into your purse already.

Just as the pain begins to reach the point in which you're ready to start reaching for your purse, and in extension, your pills, the pain suddenly comes to an immediate stop. It's so abrupt and out of the blue that you wait patiently, expecting it to return.

...Lucky you, a few minutes of silence pass, and the pain doesn't come back. You relax once more upon this discovery, but decide to speak up to distract yourself from thinking too hard about the date.

"Let's just say that I've kind of been strung into this date. He's nice though, I guess, so it could be worse," you respond, causing Halley to snicker despite the momentary awkward silence. She jumps right back into conversing like nothing's happened.

"Hey, you never know! Sometimes it's the person we'd _never_ expect to be our one and only," Halley comments, causing an unattractive snort of amusement to escape your lips. Oh that's _rich_...

"Okay, Nicholas Sparks, whatever you say..." You respond in stride, making the chestnut haired girl behind you to burst out laughing at your words.

"Wow, (Name)...! You were always so quiet before, but now you're all chit-chatty! Even better, you're _really_ funny!" Halley giggles, pausing in her ministrations to catch her breath.

Her words make you blush a bit, but you don't date turn around.

 _Yeah, well for someone who's considered herself "too good" to even_ attempt _talking to me in the past, you're awfully cheery and friendly now that you need something from me... Though why you'd even come to me in the first place if you've never tried to speak to me before is_ beyond _me._

_..._

_Or maybe she came to find Libby? That would make more sense..._

"...Halley," you start after a few minutes of silence, resulting in a small sigh from Halley once she busies herself with resuming your French braid.

"You want to know what happened to make me break down your door in tears, don't you?" Halley queries, causing you to blink in surprise at the bluntness of her words. That's now what you wanted to ask- especially considering the way she's said it. Halley sounds so _done_ with everything. She obviously isn't ready to talk about it yet...

"No," you reply firmly, causing Halley to pause once more as you continue speaking. "You don't have to tell me that yet. Not until you're comfortable telling me yourself... I'm patient and I understand if you need some time to think about things before you go telling me, especially since we don't really know much about each other. I'm just curious about why you came _here_ of all places. We're you looking for Libby?"

Halley's eyes widen tenfold when you take a peek at her face using your vanity mirror, both orbs the side of frisbees. She looks like you've asked her something crazy, and it makes you even more confused than before...

"No, _definitely_ not Liberty. I came here because... Well... You're not part of the families by blood, you know? But you're still family, and I figured I could get help from you... And plus everyone _else_ is always so strict and stuck on their ' _old ways'_ like stubborn donkeys, and-!" Halley's voice begins to rise as she glares down at her lap. She cuts herself off before she can get any louder, leaving you to watch the flurry of emotions that cross her face as she sits behind you, your unfinished French braid still in her hands.

You can only wonder what she's gone through to look so angry, tired, and frightened all at the same time. This girl is the _epitome_ of exhaustion... And even though you're salty that she's only here now that she needs your help, your heart still goes out to her for whatever she's currently suffering through.

...

"...I don't want to do this anymore," Halley murmurs lowly to herself, but her proximity allows you to hear her every word. "I'm done listening to them and living my life this way. I'm not happy like this, and I've _never_ been happy about it. In fact... I _hate_ it. I hate _them._ It's _wrong."_

You're not sure what she's talking about, but you choose not to speak out your questions. She's reflecting on something that's likely to do with why she's upset- and you're unwilling to interrupt her train of thought before she finds an answer for herself.

 _Doing what? Listening to who? Her family? Who does she hate? What are these unnamed people making her do?_ You think curiously, watching her with the mirror as she stares down at the hair in her hands thoughtfully.

After a few seconds of silence, Halley takes a deep before smiling at your curious expression from the mirror. This time, her smile is much brighter and honest than the smile she gave you when she first walked out of the bathroom.

"I think... I think I know what to do now. What I _want_ to do!" She blurts out, eyes sparkling with excitement as she finishes your braid and ties it off at the end with a matching teal ribbon you hand her- the braid reaching down to your lower back in length while bound together. "Thanks for listening, (Name), it really helped! What happened and everything... Um, it's actually a long story, you see? It's happened because-"

**_ Ding-Dong! _ **

Both you and Halley turn your heads to look at your bedroom doorway. That must be Papyrus...

"Erhm, Miss Human...? The entrance to your abode appears to be critically damaged! ...In fact, I am able to quite easily nudge it open without even placing my hand on the knob! You're unharmed, yes?!" Papyrus voice reaches from the entrance of the house, followed by mewls of interest from the kitten of the house that make you roll your eyes as your lips twitch at the corners.

Yep. No one else could be _that_ concerned about your well being than either him, Undyne, Alphys, or Ala-

_Wait..._

Your eyes widen at your sudden epiphany, but you quickly shake it out of your head before you can start thinking on the matter. No, no, that's not true... Well, it _is_ true, you're not saying it isn't, but... They aren't the _only_ ones.

Libby would care, wouldn't she...?

 _Right. Because she's been doing_ so _much of that these days..._

A stab of guilt hits you, but you refrain from letting it sink any further into your heart. You want to believe it's not your fault that the two of you aren't on good terms right now, but deep down...

Deep down, you feel like it is. _You're_ the anti-social one in the friendship.

Obviously this fight is mostly _your_ doing...

...

Halley smiles sheepishly, clearly having forgotten that you're going on a date. "It's probably a story best saved for when you get back... Don't worry, I'll still be here. I hope you have a great time, (Name). I'll keep him busy for a second as you finish," she says, climbing off the bed with a skip in her step. You have to admit- she looks a lot better now.

You smile back at her, standing to slip on your heeled sandals and finish putting your earrings on. The final touch is a sterling silver chain with a ring looped in... _Lucette's_ ring, to be exact. You don't wear it as a ring since it's a bit too big for you, and even as a necklace, you limit allowing other people to see it most of the time. Despite that though, it's usually _always_ on your person. You're lucky you weren't wearing it when you were kidnapped before, or you'd be crushed losing it.

It's while you're closing the necklace around your neck that you hear your phone vibrate with a message, which you quickly pick up to read when you give it a glance and see the name, "Captain Fish Bitch", flash on the screen.

_'Hey, so Tori and I checked the froggits- and everything good! There's a froggit here with a magenta orbee, so no need to worry! XD Your BESTIE has everything covered from here!"_

You roll your eyes but grin in relief at the news. Perfect, nothing to worry about then! Now this time and place shit doesn't matter- 'cause you have the victim safely tucked away in the Queen's safe care.

"...?! Oh boy! Another adorable female human! My collective friend roster continues to grow in abundance by the second! After all, I _am_ very popular!" Papyrus voice fills the house once more.

 _'Great to hear. G2G, Papyrus just got here. Still have no idea what's the date plan,'_ you text back, standing and grabbing your purse to make your appearance now that you're ready and dressed nice.

Your palms are sweaty around the strap of your small cross-shoulder purse and smart phone.

_Calm down. It's not even a real da..._

Your thoughts trail off when you exit your bedroom and enter the living room, catching sight of your date in front of the doorway of your home as he visibly speaks warmly to Halley with that ever present grin on his face. Halley looks like she's having fun talking to him, currently laughing in response to something Papyrus has said.

Papyrus, for a skeleton that's only been on one date before and usually wears armor to class, has cleaned up very well for this _"definitely-not-a-real-date"_ date. He's got on this dark maroon colored flannel tucked in black pants held up around his hipbones by a fancy black belt. The way he wears his black blazer makes his shoulders and torso look a lot more broad than usual, giving him a surprisingly intimidating appearance.

All in all... He looks _really_ good. Though it's not the outfit you expected him to pick since he's, well... _Papyrus._ You just assumed he'd put on something outlandish as per usual. Like another one of his self cropped and designed tee shirts and short-shorts.

Halley seems to notice you standing by your bedroom doorway and shoots you a wink of approval before facing Papyrus and making a gesture in your direction. As soon as you note this, you snap out of your thoughts when you realize she's telling the skeleton to look this way. Unprepared for his sudden attention on you, you relax the tension in your muscles and walk the rest of the way towards them as Papyrus is turning.

_Let's just get this over with..._

Papyrus eye sockets land on you- and as soon as he sees how well _you've_ cleaned up yourself, his entire mandible nearly unhinges from his skull. You're not expecting _him_ to be awestruck by your appearance, but you can't say you "barely tried". Because unfortunately, you did, even if you don't want to admit it...

The expression on Papyrus' face makes you glow with pride on the inside as you close the distance.

You take a moment to wonder what Alan would think if he could see you right now...

**_ Bzzzt! Bzz-Bzzzt! Bzzzt! _ **

Your phone vibrates twice for the arrival of two messages, but for the sake of being civil, you don't look at it yet.

"Miss Human! I am aware you've already been wearing nice clothes to show you care, but this is by far the best outfit of all!" Papyrus exclaims with an exuberant grin as he snaps out of his stupefaction.

 _Why is everything that everyone says today so confusing?_ You stop to wonder as you mutter a reluctant "thank you". You hate receiving compliments sometimes- either way you can respond, you'll either come off as self-degrading or self-absorbed.

"Nyeh heh heh!, I'm sure you already knew that, however! You have wonderful taste in clothing and accessories!" Papyrus just _has_ to add, causing your eyes to widen a smidgen. You _do?_

**_ Bzzzt! Bzzzt! _ **

_Oh,_ another _text?_ You think, curiosity to see these messages making you twitchy as Papyrus turns to face Halley, who is grinning at the two of you with a spark of amusement in her eyes.

"Well, Madame Human!" You almost laugh at Papyrus' creation of another nickname with the term "human" in it, but catch yourself before you can. "We best be off for our date. I hope we may meet once more in the future!" Papyrus states proudly, giving a small bow that makes Halley release a small laugh.

"Oh, absolutely!" She agrees, holding out a hand that Papyrus immediately takes in a handshake. Afterwards, Halley turns to face you with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about me, (Name). I'll explain everything when you get back, okay? I'll even feed your cat and wash those dishes of yours since you've been nice enough to let me stay here..."

You nod to her with a slight smile, unable to really complain. Honestly, you _really_ want to know what happened with Halley, but... Well, if she's not begging you to stay right now, then it's something that can wait, right? It's probably just drama in the household or something.

...Alright. Even _you_ don't really believe that- why would she come breaking down your door to see _you_ of _all people_ for a family argument? or _whatever_ seems to be the issue? It's confusing and-!

_No, snap out of it (Name)! The more you think about it, the more you'll be tempted to shoo Papyrus away to listen!_

"If Libby comes back, just lock yourself in my bedroom and be quiet. She knows I like my privacy, and usually won't bother me if I'm not answering to her through the bedroom door," you tell Halley, making her nod firmly in understanding.

"Alright," she says, jumping and smiling at you and a very confused looking Papyrus. "Well then! Get going, you two! Have an awesome time~!"

You smile and urge Papyrus out the barely hanging door, before hesitating behind him as you give the doorway a last look. With a frown, you turn to face Halley, pointing at the door like you want to ask her something... But then shake your head and continue walking after Papyrus, pretending not to hear the sheepish giggle that comes from the chestnut haired girl.

Halley had broke the down- and it's still hanging on its hinges, sure, but the metal and wooden indent along the doorway where the door locks was torn through by the impact of Halley throwing it open (or maybe kicking it open?)...

Observation: You must be getting used to the door being thrown or kicked open that way due to Undyne having done it frequently enough while you were still in the hospital. She kicked open the hospital room door enough times that the staff had to change it after every visit she made. Stranger yet, she claimed she didn't have to pay a _single_ penny for the damage... You can't help but wonder how she managed to get out of that dilemma.

Now for the fun part- the **question**...

...How the _hell_ did HALLEY SILVEROD _kick the door down?!_

You continue to meditate on this thought until you run into the back of Papyrus, who barely moves as you collide with his backside. Like the tall tower he is, the jubilant skeleton does not appear bothered by your collision, so you walk around him to see what's caused him to stop.

As soon as you see what his body was blocking your view of, you freeze in your tracks and allow your jaw to drop open in disbelief.

Because... Standing smack in your driveway, glossy and waxed to damn near perfection is a bright red convertible of the most expensive and pristine kinds. It's quite obviously a sports car, and although you're no car enthusiast, you turn and lean against Papyrus as soon as you set your eyes on it.

It's a fucking Ferrari.

Papyrus has a _fucking Ferrari._

...One more time, because it's still not sinking in yet.

THIS JOYFUL NAIVE SKELETON, PAPYRUS THE SELF-PROCLAIMED GREAT, OWNS A _FERRARI._

He owns a Ferrari.

Papyrus has ownership of a red convertible, which just happens to be a Ferrari.

...

This Ferrari belongs to Papyrus.

This is Papyrus' _Ferrari._

...

Somehow, it's still not really hitting you as factual.

"Nyeh heh heh... Are you _stunned_ by the beauty that I drive? Likewise am I, Miss Human! I must say, driving around the city in this car feeling the sun on my skin and wind through my hair is _exceptional!"_ Papyrus announces proudly, while you cling to his radius like a koala cub, nodding without really hearing his words.

Once you register that last part though, you turn to leer up at him with a puzzled expression. "Skin? Hair...? ...Paps, you're a skeleton."

At your words, Papyrus strokes the bottom of his mandible and nods in admiration, like you've just pointed out something a lot wiser than you actually did.

"Ah! A well made observation, Miss Human! I am a skeleton, indeed!" Papyrus turns to face you, gesturing towards his very expensive car with the small remote to the vehicle held between his phalanges. "Now, allow me to help you to your seat~"

With a click of the remote, the car releases the lock with an all too satisfying click of its internal mechanisms, making your eyes widen. What if you ruin the leather? What if you tear something? What if you transfer your fingerprints somewhere on it? What if-?!

"Oh, don't be shy, Miss Human! I don't mind, please get comfortable!" Papyrus chirps brightly, lifting you off your feet when you don't move to the gentle pull of your arms. You whimper slightly, intimidated by the value of the car as he raises you over the right door and slides you into the passenger's seat easily. So much for Papyrus unlocking the doors- you weren't even using them!

He locks your seatbelt in place before rounding the car and jumping over his own door gracefully and then starting the car with a fancy 'engine start' button.

Dear god, you're sitting in a _Ferrari._

... _PAPYRUS'_ FERRARI...!

"Alright... ONWARDS TO THE FIRST DESTINATION!"

As soon as Papyrus hits the gas pedal, you are inherently reminded of the driving skills he possesses.

...And by that, you mean his totally _nonexistent_ driving skills as you cling to the side of the car door and dig your fingernails into the leather of the seat. Any and all fears of damaging the fancy car are totally forgotten in your panic once he reaches the streets. Wherever he's taking you... The two of you are sure to be noticed.

* * *

The sound of a can being kicked by a foot echoes near the side of Ebott Pier 4 as a figure emerges from a couple of bushes next to the crates near a dock for some ships around the fishing area of Ebott Creek.

Lying in wait is Sans the skeleton, crouched on all fours as he watches a familiar red convertible zoom precariously through the parking lot nearby. With a careful nudge, he pushes some leaves aside and catches sight of the car halting safely in a parking spot, followed by a tall skeleton jumping out of the drivers' seat and rounding the front of the parked car to pull a figure out from the passenger's side like a doll.

 _She looks awfully shaken,_ Sans thinks to himself in amusement, snickering a bit as he watches you try to steady your legs like a newborn gazelle, shaking from head to toe in... Hold on, are you wearing a _dress?_

Sans leans forward a bit, narrowing his eye lights.

...Yep, that's _definitely_ a dress you're wearing.

Sans rolls his eye lights, but huffs in amusement. He may not admit it to anyone else, but you actually look kind of...

...

 _No, I'm not going there,_ Sans thinks to himself with a sour glare at your get-up. _It's just a stupid dress, plenty of people wear dresses now and then._ Anyone _can pull off wearing a dress..._

The short skeleton in the bush reaches up to run a hand down his face, a single layer of sweat coating the back of his skull as he looks towards you and Papyrus. The pair of you are now walking towards Pier 4 hand-in-hand, passing the bush Sans is hiding behind and allowing the hiding monster a better view of both your outfits.

Sans is _not_ the one that helped Papyrus dress up, and his eye sockets widen a bit when he takes in the sharp outfit his brother's got on. Considering the types of outfits his brother _usually_ wears, this is completely unexpected... And the tall skeleton is _really_ pulling off the look. In fact, he might be pulling it off _too_ well.

...This outfit must be Frisk and Tori's work.

Sans moves his gaze to your dress again, whatever Papyrus is talking about going right over his head as he takes in your outfit up close.

The dress is a simple teal color with literally no design- other than a skirt that looks like it would flare out if you spun around a bit. Around your waist is a brown belt to embellish what you're wearing, creating a noticeable synch around the nadir of your ribcage past your dress and skin.

 _It's just a stupid dress,_ Sans reminds himself as he tears his gaze away to something else- your purse. Your hand is visibly twitching towards your purse, like you're itching to open it and reach for something.

**_ Bzzzt! Bzzzt! _ **

Sans grins a little, knowingly casting a smirk towards your fingers as they twitch eagerly at your purse again. Oh, _now_ he gets it. You want to check your phone, but are resisting the urge out of respect for Papyrus since you're on a date. Huh, that's sweet of you... Though Sans is sure Papyrus would hardly care if you gave it a quick peek.

 _So Papyrus decided the first part of the date should be walking on the piers..._ Sans thinks to himself, before frowning a bit _._ Papyrus' dating handbook always called for taking the date to somewhere the date planner found special- which for Papyrus would naturally means his own room... So why did the date plan, as Sans found written out on a paper in their kitchen, include so many different things?

Sans hums to himself under his breath. If Frisk and Tori had a hand in Papyrus outfit, they likely helped plan the date out too then. Which means this is a _real_ date, and it _really_ means something to Papyrus.

An unfamiliar chill runs up Sans' spine, the kind of chill only an older sibling or parent could ever experience.

_Papyrus is growing up._

The thought scares Sans a bit, but he shakes the feeling out of his bones quickly to refocus on yours and Papyrus' _very real_ date.

...

Sans blinks in realization, before looking around at the bush he's currently hiding in. At the self observation, he can't help but face palm.

What is he even _doing_ here? He's not out to kill your or anything anymore- so why'd he even have this urge to watch out for Papyrus on your date together? Honestly, Sans _really_ tried to keep his mind off of the date after Papyrus left. He set up the television to watch something on TV, he made a few hot dogs and sat down with the usual bottle of his favorite brand of ketchup...

It wasn't enough though. Sans couldn't stop himself. He should probably get himself some help- he really _is_ becoming a stalker, isn't he?

Sans eye lights flash back into focus as he teleports along the pier behind some metal drums, peeking through the narrow gap between three drums in front of him as you and Papyrus pass him again, blissfully unaware of his presence as he watches over the pair of you.

You're visibly as silent as ever, but much to Sans' pleasant surprise, your eyes are looking up at Papyrus. Looking up at the tall skeleton doesn't seem to bother you or your neck, and you are paying attention to his every word like a hawk.

Good, at least you're not being mean or outright ignoring him...

Sans blinks, and in an instant you suddenly reach up to grab your head, looking away from Papyrus with a gasp of pain as you pull away from his arm and steady yourself on the rails of the pier near you. Sans physically tenses, and springs up onto his feet in clear view out of surprise, making his eye lights vanish as he realizes his mistake and freezes dead where he stands. It was a flinching reflex, and he did _not_ mean to completely jump out from his hiding spot.

 _Oh shit,_ the short skeleton thinks, the hoodie over his skull sliding off from his sudden movement.

"Miss Human, are you alright?" Papyrus asks in clear concern, but you're busy massaging your forehead, eyes squeezed shut as you wait out the pain. Papyrus focus is completely on you, and when Sans realizes this, he ducks back down and goes still as he waits for something to happen. He doesn't try to look around the drums yet, allowing the wild thrumming of his magic to settle as he relaxes again.

"I'm fine, it's just a headache. It's already gone, don't worry... You were talking about your Undernet followers? Tell me more about it." Sans hears you reply, making him calm down once he realizes neither of you have noticed his obvious slip up. Well, at least he's got teleportation on his side...

"Are you quite sure? If you are feeling unwell, I wouldn't mind taking you back home to rest! We can postpone our date any time," Papyrus informs you encouragingly, but as Sans peeks around the drums with revitalized courage, he sees you shake your head up at Papyrus.

"No, really! I'm okay," you say brightly- a little _too_ bright, in Sans' opinion... It's obvious you're lying and just trying to reassure Papyrus, but the tall skeleton doesn't seem to be buying it.

"...Miss Human, remember that talk we had before on our first day of CIS class together? About people thinking I do not realize the same things as they do?" Papyrus suddenly says, his usually bright tone taking a turn to something a little more firm as he speaks to you.

Sans raises a brow bone in surprise, but you shake your head again.

"I'm alright, I swear! Humans tend to get headaches a lot, this is normal. I only need a glass of water- taking me home to rest is overdoing it for a headache," you insist, looking up at Papyrus with a confident tone of assurance.

From what Sans can tell, you're still lying. You must really want to go on this date, though Sans can't fathom why. You still dislike monsters, right...? So why is this so important to you? Why have you put so much effort in your outfit? Why are you so pertinacious over continuing this date?

"...Alright, Miss Human. If you insist... But if you feel any worse, I implore you to let me know immediately. Okay?" Papyrus inquires sternly, causing you to smile a little in response. This is a real smile this time, and Sans finds himself staring a bit too long when he sees it- trying to understand the reasoning for your friendliness.

 _What are you thinking about to smile so warmly at my brother like that?_ Sans wonders as the two of you continue walking further along the pier, Sans following closely behind as he watches the date unfold before him.

* * *

Halley Silverod collapses over your bed in a heap with a sigh of relief, wearing some pajamas you've set out for her before leaving for your date. She throws her arms up with a small laugh, relaxing after so many days of high strung stress and problems with the family.

However, now that she's been welcomed here with by your kindness? Halley feels like she's laying on a cloud with not a care in the world...

...Reality will set in eventually, but for now, she has the moment to relax and-

 _"Mew!"_ Halley lifts her head, listening as the sound of fabric being pulled and having holes poked into them fill the air. Eventually, a cute little face peers over the side of the bed and locks eyes with Halley. _"Mee-eeeeeew!"_

Halley snickers and reaches over to pet the kitten's head with a finger, making Brownie sniff it and then lean away when it finds that it's not food.

 _"Meeee-eeeeew!"_ It drags another mewl out at the human on your bed, who only rolls onto her belly to reach for the kitten and pet it more. This is not what the kitten wants, however, so it drops down from the bed and saunters back to the doorway, prompting Halley to stand and follow it.

Finally realizing they're getting somewhere, the kitten makes an eager beeline for the kitchen. Halley follows, smiling and laughing when she realizes what the feline is trying to do. "I know you've already been fed, silly~ I'm not _that_ easy to trick, you know?" The chestnut haired girl responds, stopping when they reach the cat's food bowl.

Halley stands there, watching the cat and doing nothing else. As a result, the kitten approaches her to rub it's side against her calves, attempting to make a good impression and appeal to Halley's sympathetic nature.

 _"Mee-eew!"_ It mewls again, but Halley just shakes her head, turning to leave the kitchen and return to the room.

It's while the kitten is running after her that the door, broken and barely held shut by three mere pieces of duct tape Halley found in your bedroom, suddenly blows open by a rather _unnatural_ gust of strong wind. The front door is sent slamming against the wall behind it, making both Halley and the kitten jump in surprise as it swings open on its hinges.

The normally frightened kitten narrows it's eyes on the doorway in alarm, waiting for something to happen... But when it doesn't it realizes the opportunity presented to it and charges straight out the door, causing Halley to gasp in surprise.

"H-hey, wait! Bad, kitty, _no!"_ Halley calls after it, slipping on some sandals a half size too big for her that have been left near the entrance. She takes down the drive way after the kitten, but not until after grabbing a strand of duct tape and pulling the door shut behind her, using the tape to keep the door shut.

Once she's on the side walk, Halley turns in every possible direction, only to spot the naughty feline racing down the street towards the direction of the city, prompting her to begin chasing after it with a huff of annoyance. Just when she gets to relax, this cat decides to cause her grief for not feeding it extra...

Halley would have grabbed the cat food container and shook it to lure the kitten back into the house, but it had gotten too far to use that method of bait by the time she snapped out of her shock at the blown open door.

Stranger yet, the door had been blown open... But as Halley runs down the street after the cat, she makes notice that there is not even a _breeze_ outside right now. It's as humid as it usually is here in Ebott Creek. This observation causes a chill to run up Halley's spine, but she continues running after the kitten, pretending not to notice the inconsistencies. No one seems to be around, and all the neighboring lights on the inside of the residencies are off as she runs down the street.

A light flickers on from above her as she chases the kitten, turning on every unpowered street lamp she passes under in her pursuit. She's well aware of the light flickering on every time she passes under one, and a quick glance behind shows they soon turn off once she is done passing under them.

That chill comes back full force when she realizes this, but continues after the kitten. She's not really sure what's going on...

But it smells of _witchcraft._

Halley eventually has to stop to catch her breath, left watching the kitten continue on ahead out of sight as she leans forward and gasps for air, cheeks flushed from exertion and eyes glancing around nervously. The single street lamp above her stays lit, but when she starts walking in the direction the kitten ran off towards, the light continues to flicker on after her, following her every step. Even when she back tracks under a previous light and then continues forward again.

For a moment, she makes a small noise of morbid amusement, but reminds herself of what witchcraft really is.

And witchcraft is not funny. _At all._

As she reaches the busier areas of the city searching for your cat, she begins running into strangers and asking only the reliable looking civilians if they've spotted Brownie. Much to her disdain, the kitten appears to have avoided the sight of nearly every person she chooses to ask, until she reaches a steep street that has her calves aching as she continues her search.

All Halley really wants to do is return back to the comfy bed in your room to take a nap... But you've been so nice to her- nice enough to let her use your bathroom, your bedroom, your _pajamas._ Nicer than Halley realizes she deserves, for not giving you a chance at friendship in the past.

If she wants to be your friend _now_ then she's going to start by bringing your kitten back home before you realize it's missing. After all, it's Halley's fault the door is broken anyways.

Halley sighs and looks around, catching sight of a pair of well built drunk teenagers attempting to push a large truck up the hill with a third friend in the drivers' seat. All of them look wasted beyond belief, and Halley snorts in exasperation. Like that, all they're going to do is hurt themselves... They shouldn't be trying to push it up such a steep hill in their states.

**_ Beep-beep! _ **

Halley reaches into the pocket of the black pajama pants you've lent her, glancing down at the screen of her phone curiously. It's covered in finger prints from usage while she was wiping her make-up stained cheeks earlier, but a quick wipe on your pajama top (and a silent apology for getting it dirty), and it's clean once more for her to check this new message of hers.

The chestnut haired girl drags the notification bar down from her iPhone and blinks when she sees strange text in the message inbox.

It's a new message, but... It's written using several types of symbols she can't recognize. All of a sudden, her previous suspicion of witchcraft begins to fade as she tries to figure out the meaning of the message. It's while she's typing her own message that a new message arrives from the same thread. A quick glance at the number reads more text in these strange symbols. She's never seen a string of messages in a font like this... There's pointing hands, male and female signs here and there, symbols _completely_ unfamiliar and-

The sound of the drunk boys shouting sarcastically with a few curse words catches her attention as she looks up from her phone to see what's going on with the oafs. Looks like Halley was right- as the large truck is now travelling down the steep hill towards an area a couple of meters away- near the base of some ghetto apartment complexes. Halley isn't at all close to its travelling destination though, so she just sighs in pity and glances down at her phone to see if she can call up a tow service and maybe the cops to help their sorry butts home.

Another message in symbols arrives. And then another. And another...

Halley frowns and shakes her head in confusion as messages begin compiling in the thread. What is this person sending her? She doesn't understand!

Well, just as Halley thinks this, her brain makes a surprising connection. The unfamiliar text is now being spaced and set in a way that it creates an actual character- and these characters are recognizable letters of the alphabet. It's an odd way of getting a message across, why don't they just switch to the regular QWERTY keyboard instead of going through such a hassle like this?

Halley begins reading the message.

**'G-E-T-O-U-T-O-F-T-H-E-W-A--'**

The sound of a loud crash, water spewing in a rush from somewhere, and something metal clanging loudly from afar makes Halley lift her head with a startled flinch and-

* * *

You hold Papyrus' hand a little tighter as the two of you make your way to the outdoor Spaghetti Palace restaurant by the beach to have dinner, a place that's usually full on nice nights like these for dancing to the music the restaurant plays frequently in the weekdays. It's a semi-formal dress code- so the two of you are dressed for the occasion.

Since dancing is involved, you're not as thrilled as you _could_ be- since in the past you've been frequently _forced_ to dance rather than choose it yourself.

On that note though... This date has more or less been okay.

...

Well... You wouldn't say it's a _normal_ date, but it's not as bad as you pictured it would be.

...

Okay, it's a pretty bad date in at least _Papyrus'_ opinion, as he has apologized to you profusely several times already.

See, on the way back from the pier, some men decided to take pictures in front of Papyrus' Ferarri like it was theirs- and berated Papyrus upon his claim that it was his. The two of you were lucky the men were just mouthy and didn't try to cause a scene, but your nerves were tickled a smidgen.

After parking in the city (and putting up the fabric of the convertible to make sure no adventurous strangers hopped in again), some kids spilled fruit juice on both yours and Papyrus' shoes, leaving your feet sticky enough that the two of you had to take a trip to wash them off in some public bathrooms.

Eventually after _that_ fiasco, the two of you walked barefooted (er, tarsal footed?) back to the Ferrari... To find it egged. It had only been around ten minutes to walk to the nearby bathrooms and then return after cleaning your feet and shoes, so you insisted on cleaning the car before the fluid of the eggs could set in and ruin the paint job of Papyrus' beloved vehicle.

There are many vendors that sell the weirdest shit set up along the streets of the city, so you found one that was selling car wash material, purchased what you needed, and then rushed back and forth from the bathroom to the car to clean it with Papyrus, the skeleton setting aside his blazer so it wouldn't get ruined as he scrubbed the areas of immediate damage. You had to tie your dress skirt tightly around your thighs to do a good job, but the two of you still got a bit wet while drying the car.

As soon as you finished drying the car and were set to continue the date, the two of you realized someone had snatched Papyrus blazer in the time you were both busy cleaning the car...

So that leaves you where you are now. Walking barefooted hand-in-hand with a sulking tower of a skeleton to a beachside dance restaurant, his shell of excitement has dwindled significantly since the start of the incidents throughout the date. You're not sure how to help pick him up, so you settle with holding onto his hand and following him despite the sudden silence that befalls the pair of you.

 _...I feel bad,_ you think, biting your lip as you sneak a worried glance up at Papyrus. This time, it's not a headache that's making you feel bad, and you _know_ it's not because you took a pill while in the bathroom before to stop your headache.

Papyrus stops at the entrance of the restaurant and takes a deep breath, facing away from you. It's obvious he wants to say something, so you prepare yourself to listen to whatever he has to say...

Much to your surprise, he spins around like nothing has happened, sporting that jolly grin you've been getting used to seeing on his face. He just doesn't look right with a sad grimace or a frown... It looks _wrong_ on him.

You blush at your thoughts, and Papyrus brightens significantly at your reaction.

"Welcome to the Pasta Palace, Miss Human! I heard great things about this place, and I'm sure we will not encounter as much misfortune now that we have reached a reliable destination!" Papyrus declares knowingly, squeezing your hand as he pushes open the door and lets you walk in ahead of him.

 _That's more like it,_ you can't help but think, slowly allowing a smile to make its way to your face despite your embarrassment for such fluffy thoughts. If anything, Papyrus' personality, despite the misfortune of the date so far, has made everything worthwhile. He's losing that spark a bit, but every time he turns to speak to you or regard you, his demeanor bounces back to something brighter and energetic. A few days ago, you'd have _never_ admitted it, but... Papyrus is a sweet monster. He's fun to be around.

Nicer to be around than most human friends you've made in the past.

You and Papyrus approach a hostess at the front counter, where Papyrus takes over in that usually proud voice of his that can never be taken down.

"Greetings, human! I believe I have a reservation here made under 'The Great Papyrus'!" Papyrus speaks clearly as he moves your hand to link it around his arm, waiting patiently for the woman to drag a finger down the list quickly and-

"No, your name is not here," she simply answers.

...

......?

"...You barely looked," you inform the woman slowly, a nerve twisting under your skin as you watch the woman turn towards you and raise her nose up high enough to scrape the ceiling. Her arrogance is not _at all_ like how Papyrus holds himself. Papyrus says he himself is great, and may say he is the greatest of all, but he doesn't make others feel like they're any _less_ of a person. In fact, he praises everyone around him nearly twenty-four-seven! "Do you mind looking again?"

"As a matter of fact, we are very busy tonight and-"

"Ah- _hah!_ I found it! Here it is, Human! I spoke to a kind gentle-human named Christian about the reservation, I knew he would secure a reservation for us! It's alright, Human, I'm sure you didn't mean to skip our reservation," Papyrus comments, watching the woman stare at him... and then mark something on the list before reaching aside to grab another host to take you and Papyrus to a seat. "Thank you very much!"

You don't spare the horrible hostess at the counter another glance as you follow the cheerful skeleton past the kitchen and to the outdoor patio overlooking the beach. There are lots of tables decorated white, blue and green colors, and some wooden steps leading down to the sandy beach below.

There are a lot of people eating here, but not as much as the hostess claimed. Although you want to be angry, you sizzle down the little spit fire inside of yourself and take a seat at a table near the back of the establishment, where you and Papyrus are given a surprisingly excellent view of the ocean despite the initial rejection of entry.

"Thank you," you say to the host that's brought you and Papyrus to your seats, watching him offer you a strained smile and rub his hands together nervously.

"Can I bring you two any, um, drinks?" He asks, while casting Papyrus a curious look- likely because he's a skeleton and doesn't have a stomach where to tuck any contents of the sort.

"I would like a root beer, please!" Papyrus orders, grinning up at the human and completely oblivious of his staring... Or so you think, but you take a moment to remind yourself that he's sharper than he appears.

"I'll have the same," you respond dismissively, watching the guy nod despite his gaze gluing itself to Papyrus. You said thank you to _this_ rude dude? What is he _doing?_ "Hey, do you mind _not_ staring at my date?"

The guy freezes up in disbelief, looking back over at you with his mouth slightly agape in shock. "You two are on a _date?"_

You narrow your eyes dangerously in warning, channeling your inner-Undyne and making the guy laugh nervously before pointing back towards the inside of the establishment.

"I mean, I'll go get you your drinks! U-unless you're ready to order...?" He stammers, watching as Papyrus gasps and enthusiastically raises his hand like a school kid.

"I'll have your classic artisan spaghetti, please!" Papyrus says, watching the guy yank out his pad and pen to scribble down his order. The guy then turns to you, where you sit with your unwavering glare on him.

"Chicken Alfredo with broccoli and mushrooms... _Please,"_ you order, the "please" in your sentence sounding a lot more passive aggressive than intentional as the host scribbles the order down and nods with a thumbs up before turning to scurry back into the kitchen. He missed a whole shit ton of other things to ask- like the option of appetizers, what sides we wanted, whether sides come _included_ in the first place (spoiler alert, _yours_ does), or if you or Paps want anything else, but you calm your nerves once more.

As you take a deep breath and turn to face your date again, you notice Papyrus giving you a curious look.

"What is it?" You inquire before looking down at your dress in confusion. Is there soap on it still or something? Or maybe there's something on your face?

"...Thank you for defending me, Miss Human," Papyrus speaks up with a shy smile, causing you chew on your tongue as you look away and wave off his apology.

"Don't let it get to your head..." You huff, despite the smile trying to form on your face. The host soon returns with your drinks, not meeting either of your gazes as he lets the two of you know of the estimated time of your meal preparation and quickly rushes back to the kitchen.

Thankfully, you two are able to eat your meals in peace when they arrive, and you take many glances towards the nice view of the ocean as you enjoy the taste of your dinner. Papyrus sure picked a nice place to eat- but the service is _awful_ regarding the manners of these people. Besides that, however, everything here smells so good to you, and you and Papyrus even taste test each other's dishes.

For a moment, you're _actually_ having the fun Papyrus likely wanted you to have when first suggesting the date.

...Unfortunately, that fun is soon shattered in the form of another customer shouting from a table behind where you sit along the side of the patio border.

 

"Hey, you!"

At first, neither you nor Papyrus figure the stranger is talking to either of you. You don't know him, and from the way Papyrus doesn't lift his head, he doesn't know the speaking man either. Needless to say, you resume your meals in peace, getting close to finishing your dinners and drinks (with no one to refill your glasses in sight).

"Hey, no need to be rude and ignore me!"

At this point, you're frowning, and you look up to share your confusion with an equally puzzled Papyrus as the two of you pause your chewing to look around for whoever this person is calling out to.

"I'm talking to _you,_ skeleton!"

You turn your head to look at the man seated directly behind you, shifting in your seat to see him better as Papyrus offers him a confused look. The man is in his forties wearing this ugly polo and eating with what looks to be his very embarrassed thirteen year old son, who is giving his father a death glare as he smirks in Papyrus direction.

"Yes? Do you need something, mister?" Papyrus, as cordial and polite as he is, asks kindly, setting his fork and knife down to listen to the man.

"Yeah, hey, where does all that food that you eat go?" The man blatantly asks with an amused grin, like he knows damn well he's being a filthy prick. You stare at him in response, hoping Papyrus isn't nice enough that he's going to let someone walk all over him like that and-

"Oh, it dissolves into my bones via magic. What, did you think it just happened to **go** **right through me**?" Papyrus suddenly says, making your eyes bulge in shock as you turn to face him, his grin wider than ever.

"Was... Was that a _pun?"_ You ask with your jaw agape, causing Papyrus to cover his mouth and snicker at your reaction. You know he once admitted he found some puns to be _clever_ and enjoyable, what you _didn't_ know is that he enjoys making his _own_ puns too!

"Oh, ha-ha... Yeah, funny. Anyways, how does it leave your body then? I mean, you're a skeleton and you have no-"

 _"Dad, stop,"_ the kid growls from across his father, looking absolutely mortified by his dad's behavior. The kid shoots you an apologetic glance, and you nod to him in response, trying to calm your nerves as you reach for your root beer on the table. Sheesh, poor kid... He's better behaved than his own father! Just what kind of a dad displays this kind of attitude in front of his own kid?!

"What? I'm just curious, can you blame me? It's not every day you get to see a skeleton monster!" The man waves his kid's words off and faces you and Papyrus again. "So... You two are on a date, yeah? How are you both going to... You know... _Ba_ -"

Just like that, your temper flares up at a furious degree of rage. You've had enough of the shit in this restaurant- they may have great pasta, but the people here are as shitty as shit can get. You don't have enough patience in your blood to take any more of it.

Before you can get a word out, the glass in your hand suddenly shatters like an eggshell, surprising you, Papyrus, the father, and his kid as you keep your gaze glued on the other man. You're surprised, half covered in what was left of your root beer, but decide to roll with it since you need to put this father in his damn place.

"That's none of your business- and you'd better _watch your mouth_ ," you state very carefully, watching the dad squirm under your gaze a bit before he turns away to refocus on his meal innocently when a host suddenly approaches your table.

"I-I think you two need to leave. You're causing an unnecessary scene and-" The host begins to say, backing away when you abruptly stand up, well prepared to spit a few more pieces of your mind until Papyrus lifts you off your feet and slaps a hand over your mouth lightly to stop whatever you're about to say.

"Nyeh...! Yes! We are very sorry about that. Please excuse us...!" Papyrus answers, before deftly jumping backwards over the side of the restaurant onto the sandy beach with you and your purse in tow as he lands and sets you on your feet.

You can't help but snort in amusement when the host looks over the edge and seems at a loss for words, unable to say anything else to you or Papyrus since you're technically on public beach grounds now.

"Your service was garbage anyways!" You snap one last thing up at the host, before grinning victoriously and giving him your back.

Papyrus takes your hand once more and leads you towards the shore with a sigh under his breath, making your smirk of victory vanish immediately as you realize that it's  _your_ fault both of you were kicked out of the restaurant. You feel incredibly guilty for ruining dinner, and although that glass that shattered in your hand continues to egg at the back of your mind, but you push everything aside as when you see the look on Papyrus' face.

He looks... Crushed. Waves of shame roll over you.

"...I'm sorry for ruining dinner," you say once the two of you reach the shore and plop down side by side near the waters edge, watching the sea foam claw its way up the sand from the dark night-time waters. The dark water reflects the dim light from the restaurant behind you two, making it difficult to make out things like shells under the shallows. With the movement of the small waves, the sea offers its shells to you, and you watch Papyrus pick some up from beside his feet, brushing away sand along their exteriors with a sad smile. 

"No, Miss Human, it was not your fault... I, The Great Papyrus, should have done a better job at planning this human-style of dating. You should not have even had to help clean my vehicle on our date- I wanted you to relax and have a good time like Frisk suggested, however... I must have dreamed a little too big in that sense," the skeleton answers, pulling his legs up to his chest as he holds the shells in his hand and looks out over the dark waters of the ocean, out towards the lights far away from the land. "...What are those pretty lit up places out there in the water called, Miss Human?"

You want to immediately tell him he's not at fault either (and you question what Wonder Kid had to do with anything), but his question throws you off enough to distract you momentarily just as you get the words organized in your head.

"Those are just oil rigs," you answer quickly, before returning your focus on the issue at hand. "Papyrus, this isn't _your_ fault either. We just had bad luck and ran into a lot of horrible people tonight! I still had fun with you... And at least I can tell everyone I had a memorable first date!"

Papyrus shifts his eye sockets in the other direction dubiously. "I am quite positive you've had better dates than _this_ , Miss Human..."

"No, I haven't! I've never even _been_ on a real date before!" You insist with a sympathetic smile, turning in your spot to face him. He still refuses to look at you, but upon hearing your claim, he visibly winces.

"Oh dear... I've ruined your first date ever..." Papyrus suddenly murmurs to himself in horror, prompting you to sigh and face palm. Maybe you need to approach this a different way? Telling him all of this doesn't seem like it's working, at all.

From the restaurant, the sound of their music turning up begins to echo over to where you and Papyrus are. You glance back at the horrible restaurant curiously, listening to the tune of a violin and dance medley you recognize from one of your favorite artists. You'd dance if you weren't trying to console Papyrus and convince him he didn't do a bad job at planning the date, but-

 _...Hey, wait... What if_ _I_. _..?_

You stand up, steadying yourself on your feet with a wry smile as your plan takes form in your mind and you walk around to pass the space a few feet in front of where Papyrus sits with his skull resting over his arms. Cold water hits your feet and ankles, sending a spray of salty liquid to the hem of your dress despite it not being all too long.

Rather than say anything else, you drag your feet along the sand to the gentle beats of the musing, leaving a trail of disturbed sand in your wake. Right as a beat hits, you spin in a pirouette, allowing the music to flood your nerves. The sharp beats ring in your soul, and the sound of the violin chords undulating give you a sense of floating as you begin the start of an elegant dance along the shore.

As you let your body meld with the flow of the music, you take a peek at Papyrus. The smile lining your lips widens as you see that his head is lifted, his gaze is focused solely on you now.

The violin chords are stroked at a gentle pace, and you take the break to reach out to Papyrus with one hand, your position halted in an arabesque as you wait for the answer to your invitation. Papyrus looks surprised, but after a second of looking up at your encouraging face, he slowly slips his hand in yours and stands up.

You wonder if he'll actually be able to properly dance with you, but decide that whatever he does- professional, amateur, or even downright _horrendous_ dancing altogether, as long as he has fun, you don't really care much of his skill level.

The music picks up, and you pull Papyrus around, leading him through the beat and lifting his arms to duck under playfully every now and then- watching as his eye sockets begin to brighten to your sudden change in behavior.

You break away from Papyrus and execute a string of allegro-type moves to the quick beats of the themes, before the music slows and you pirouette into a gentle flow of adagio sways, allowing one movement to flow into the other much like the water of the ocean before you reach for Papyrus hand...

Papyrus pulls you closer and you reflexively spin into his arms, the two of you laughing together when he uncurls you with a twist and begins guiding you along the shallow waters of the shore, both of you blissfully unaware of the world, your problems, or your less than fortunate date plan.

The music has taken a firm hold of both of you now, strings of the violin coiling around your every limb and guiding your movements as you follow Papyrus own dancing gracefully. For Papyrus not being an actual dancer (he's not a dancer, is he...?), he has great form and moves fluidly despite being a skeleton. In fact, he's leading a lot better than even some other _trained_ dancers you've danced with in the past.

Papyrus suddenly lifts you up at a crescendo, and you're thrown in the air, twisting and forcing your body to fall stomach down in a starfish as Papyrus catches you with ease, setting you down and returning to the joined dance along the shore-

You squeak when you trip over a knot of seaweed, landing backwards with a small splash in the suddenly calf deep water that soaks your entire body as a result when you sit up and find Papyrus standing over you, hands over his mouth in shock.

...

The look of shock on his face at your state makes you crack with a small giggle. Seeing this, Papyrus lowers his hands and snickers. Before the two of you know it, you're both bursting out laughing- you soaked head to toe in sea water for the second time that day, and Papyrus looking a lot happier than before as a result of your dance together.

 _Success! I got him to smile!_ You think, before blushing and trying to urge your smile away by looking down and nibbling on the knuckle of your right index finger. It doesn't work. You're in way too good of a mood now to force it away.

"M-Miss Human, are you alright?" Papyrus finally asks in amusement once he's got a hold of his laughter, taking your hand and helping you onto your feet as water rolls off of your dress and splashes as it hits the water below. You chuckle brightly, pushing your braid back and reaching down to wring out your dress.

"Never better, Paps," you answer, tying the dress skirt around your legs again and grabbing your purse a few feet away before returning to his side and taking his hand. "What next?"

"Next?" Papyrus looks surprised by your words, and he looks around nervously as if a solution will jump out at him from somewhere. "Well... Technically, this was supposed to be the end of the date. But if you would like to continue hanging out, I wouldn't mind! However, there is something we must discuss before we can get to that point."

You nod in understanding, patiently waiting for whatever it is that he's going to tell you.

"Miss Human... I understand now," Papyrus explains, nodding and closing his eyes as he prepares himself. "You wanted me to be happy, and you showed me that we can make our own happiness despite all odds, and you showed this with your pretty dancing..."

 _Pretty dancing,_ you snicker in the back of your mind.

Honestly, it's the first time in a very, _very_ long time... That you've _actually_ had real fun while dancing. You almost thought you were drained of all the joy of dancing from years of being forced to do what you were told.

...

 _I guess... Monsters aren't_ so _bad..._

"I have figured it out, Miss Human..."

You blink and snap out of your thoughts when you remember where you are- though you're confused by Papyrus' words. "...Figured out what?" You ask, raising a single brow at him.

"I have figured out... That you, like our puny human friend, Frisk... _ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH ME!"_ Papyrus proclaims, looking entirely one hundred percent sure of this observation of his that you find yourself unable to disagree or correct him. Instead, you repress a laugh and slightly smile.

"Mmm, I am? Oh, I see..." You play along with a thoughtful expression, watching as he nods and places an arm over your shoulders.

"Unfortunately, Miss Human... I expected feelings of love to blossom forth once more- yet even after this second date of mine, I still have yet to find my true one and only. Alas, Miss Human, that means it is not you either. Please forgive me for dragging you deeper into the despair that is relentless infatuation! I understand if you choose not to become my friend over this, but-!" Papyrus begins, wincing at the memory of today's date, but you cut him off firmly.

"Let's be friends," you immediately propose, watching Papyrus lift his head once more to see the small smile on your face. You're nervous about admitting this out loud. "Undyne... Undyne is right about me. And I was wrong about monsters... I'm not good with people and I have a lot of issues I need to work out as far as self improvement goes, but if you're willing to deal with me... I would _like_ to try to be friends."

Papyrus gazes down at you with a one hundred yard stare... And then promptly lifts you up off of your feet, shouting unintelligible words of excitement that all seem to blend together into one big pile of delightful gibberish as he spins you around several times more than necessary and throws you up in the air, right before hugging you tightly like a teddy bear as you giggle from the little ride.

"Oh, _Miss Human~!_ I'm so proud of you! You have grown so much! AND IT'S ONLY BEEN A FEW DAYS SINCE YOU WERE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL!" Papyrus blurts out looking to be in near tears as you look up at him from his arms.

"Are... Are you crying?" You ask nervously with a studious leer, craning your head back to squinting your eyes up at his face through the dim light of the restaurant behind you in the night time beach.

"No, I have something in my eye!"

"...Tears?"

"EXACTLY!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than usual! MEHHH!!! I Finished at six am- but the Archive Maintenance decided they were going to extend their work on the website's configuration past their stated time frame! My apologies to you guys, I hope something like this doesn't happen again TmT
> 
> Also, MetaMaterialGirl has star struck us again with more phenomenal artwork! :D She's freaking amazing at her art, and look! Reader's feet are not touching the ground YET AGAIN! *le gasp* the series continues! xD Please send her some more love and bathe her in a shower of kisses!!! She's such cool~!!!! TwT there aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe her and her art, but they make me bleed sweet, sweet sugar and chocolate... <3
> 
> Linksies~:  
> [Bomb Apple Quiche Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)


	26. Spellbound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans follows you around during your date! ...But he's not the only one!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT AAAAAGGGGGGAAAAIIIIINNNN!!!! *sobbing while clawing at the space for 'Saturday' on nearby calendar*

Chapter 26: Spellbound

 

“Oh my god… Oh my _god,_ man! FUCK!” A horrified teenager likely in his late teens gasps, looking at the fallen body from atop the high point of the street, where a figure once standing is now completely crumpled on the ground face up- the glass screen of her fallen smart phone cracked and broken for the most part, save for the glitching colors of blue, gold, and white bars going haywire within the shattered screen.

 _“Shh!_ Keep your voice down, you moron!" One of the other boys, a kid with a face covered in pimples comments, looking only _a little_ less shaken than his friend does as he grabs both arms of his two companions to carefully lead their inebriated forms down the steep road with him. Not that it's any less dangerous since he himself is just as drunk, but whether he realizes this is not apparent as he growls at his freaked out friend on his left. "Do you _want_ people to find us like this?!”

“Wh-what? Dude, what _else_ should we be doing?! ...Oh _god,_ her face…! Her face is all sorts of screwed up!" The boy who has been panicking since the start says as soon as they stop near the crumbled body, tears beginning to run down his face in his panic. Their other companion is no less panicked, but in comparison to the reactions of his other two friends, he is stuck in a startled silence of shock.

”...We need to call the cops, _now,”_ the quieter of the friends announces as soon as he brings himself to look at the corpse, quickly looking away and fumbling to find his phone in his pockets.

“No, _absolutely not!”_ The pimpled teen snaps, causing the quiet one to flinch and drop his search. Whether or not he wanted to argue against it- it appears he's lost his phone anyways. He would have to convince one of his friends to lend him theirs...

"What, are you _mental?!_ She's not even moving! Her head looks like a tomato smashed in- what if we can help he-?!" The crying boy argues, growing only a smidgen angrier at the heartless suggestion of his pimpled friend.

The pimpled teen lets out a snort, one that sounds a little shaken despite his attempts to appear aloof and confident in such a morbid situation. "Too late for that. This chick is dead- _very dead._ And in case you've suddenly forgot, none of us here are exactly _sober._ This isn't even _our_ car! Oh, and by the way, I'm the only one here with any driving skills, and all I've got is a goddamn _permit._ The cops will jump on me like nobody's business for a DUI without a viable license- whether or not we hit this girl with the car itself or like... Fucking _this."_

"This is _seriously_ messed up! Of all the things that could have happened...!" The sobbing boy barely manages to get out, though he is unable to bring himself to look away from the face of the fallen body.

"If she were just standing a few feet to the left or right... It would have missed her completely," the quieter of the trio states in a murmur, before the pimpled boy lets out a loud groan of vexation. They're wasting time standing around there like drunk idiots- they need to get moving.

"Okay, never mind the fact that she had a one in a million fatality- let's move on," the pimpled boy states, reaching for his pocket to pull out his own phone and move it around before he finds the fingerprint reader and unlocks his smart phone. At the sight of the phone, the quiet friend lifts his head and swallows thickly. His friend is so adamant about calling the cops... But he has to try to convince him otherwise. Somebody is _dead,_ and he himself is not willing to live the rest of his life leaving this poor girl's carcass here like this.

Before the quiet guy can say anything, his pimpled friend speaks up. "...We're leaving her here."

"... _What?!_ We can't do that! She's a _person_ , not road kill!" He immediately rebuts his friend's suggestion, voice raising over the sound of the third teen's crying as he crouches down by the body, muttering unintelligible apologies the girl will never truly hear.

 _"'Was'_ a person. She's just a corpse now. I'm not letting this accident ruin my chances at my dream school- I'm graduating at the end of the year! If they hear I was drinking and driving, I'm off the list!" The pimpled boy snaps, much to his friend's disdain. "You _really_ want to argue with me? I'm on the wrestling team, remember? And what are you? Just a guy that plays chess! You wouldn't stand a chance in a fight with me."

"This is crazy talk- we _have_ to call the..." The quieter of the three falls silent as his eyes catch what looks to be white sparks of light flying off of some of the wires of a electricity post back up the steep hill from where they came, a figure eventually walking through one of the alley ways behind the sparks and looking up at the twinkling lights curiously.

It's obviously the figure of a female... But the quiet guy feels his panic rise at the sight of her.

He doesn't know the girl.

And the girl is _you._

The sparks from the electricity posts die out, and at the pimpled boy's notice of his friend's attention behind him, the angry teen turns to see you switching your attention down to the trio from the electricity post wiring above. Confusion and curiosity coats your features, but other than a curse under his breath, the pimpled boy doesn't let in on his panic at your appearance... _Whoever_ you are.

It's then that their crying friend stands up abruptly when he sees you, tears still running down his cheeks from bloodshot eyes.

"I...It was an _accident!_ W-w-we didn't even hit her with the car, I _swear!"_ The boy blurts out in a miserable blubber, causing the pimpled boy to spin around with a furious growl and drive his fist into his friend's face with a vengeance. The other friend tumbles back, unable to retain his balance due to both his drunkenness and his fragile emotional state.

 _"Shut up, you dumb ass!"_ The pimpled teen snaps, unaware of you approaching them from atop the hill, despite your tense visage of wariness as you approach the kinder of the boys that is trying to mentally urge you to turn around and leave due to his comrade's dangerous inebriation. If his pimpled friend is willing to beat the living crap out of _him,_ who knows what else he's willing to do to keep a stranger like you quiet...

You look around the tall teenager's body from a somewhat safe five feet distance... And freeze up abruptly upon seeing the body behind them. The pimpled teen turns to look at you, and when he realizes you've seen the body, moves to detain you- regardless of the expression of mortification as your body physically locks up in place from where you stand. If he reaches you, you likely will still be too shocked to move.

The only thing that stops him is your gasp of a name.

You _know_ this damned corpse of a girl.

_"...H-Halley...?"_

* * *

**(Hours Earlier)**

"Fufu... Those two had it comin'! Cleaning their fancy schmancy car- like seriously, who even _tries_ that hard? Dumb skeleton..." A fourteen year old boy with red hair brags to his friends, another boy with black hair and what looks to be the black haired boy's twin sister.

The black haired girl snickers wildly at her comrade's enthusiasm, swinging around a familiar black blazer and holding what looks to be a brightly glowing yellow glow stick in her other hand.

"I am _so_ glad we left that lame ass party early! Did you see that skeleton's face when he started looking around for his blazer?" She pauses to let out a volley of giggles, followed by a snort of elation as she spins around the boys, skipping over the cracks of the ground happily. "I mean, he looked like he lost a family heirloom or freaking _something!"_

"Oh my god, and that girl he was with was totally cute too- how the heck did he manage to get _her_ to go on a date with him?! Like, is she _that_ desperate? Or is that skeleton just _that_ good?" The black haired boy comments, skirting around the girl to link arms with the red haired boy, resting his head on his shoulder. "Well, he's certainly not gettin' anything tonight after she had to help him clean his precious car... What date makes their partner clean a car?!"

"...Actually, I think the girl was the one who suggested it. She went straight to the shops to go buy cleaning supplies the moment she saw the mess," the red haired boy corrects before grinning at the boy on his arm. "I _guess_ that was kinda sweet of her."

"Hmm. Who cares?" The girl beside the couple giggles, pulling the black garment over her slender shoulders, despite the larger size of Papyrus' blazer. As soon as she has it in place, she starts skipping around the boys again, dancing around all bubbly. "I wish we could have recorded it!"

The black haired boy lets out a gasp, like his friend's just prophesized something rather than made a wistful comment of regret. "Shiiiit, we _should_ have!" He turns to his red haired partner, grinning from ear to ear. "Babe! Let's go back! We could pull something else and get it on video! What if we get internet famous for this kind of stuff?!"

"You really want to? Well, okay, if you two are down for it then-" The red head begins with a smile, until a voice cuts him off with a nonchalance that likely wouldn't have sent such violent chills up the trio's spines had it not been for the words said.

"Huh. Nice blazer, kid. You know... It actually kind of looks like my _brother's_ blazer. That's funny- I think I saw him a block or two back without his..." A lazy drawl comes from directly behind the three teens, causing them to slowly turn around.

...Until they are met with the eerily empty sockets of a skeleton- one clearly shorter than the massively tall monster way back down the street with his date. Unlike that skeleton, however, this one does _not_ look like a monster to mess with.

The teens all stiffen up nervously as the monster pulls a skeletal hand out of the pocket of his blue jacket, reaching towards the girl of the three and making a subtle gesture of his phalanges.

"Thanks for keeping it warm for him, but I'm pretty sure he will be wanting that back now," he says, his empty sockets never lighting up or blinking. The girl doesn't move right away, frozen in place nervously as she stares back at the skeleton with an owlish look of wide eyed befuddlement. She looks guilty as _hell,_ but despite their offenses, the skeleton monster does not rush them.

All he really does is stare the girl down with those empty sockets of his, which is enough to eventually get the girl to shrug the jacket off and take a wary step forward to place it in his extended hand.

As soon as it's in his grip, the skeleton relaxes his glare and his eye lights return, tightening his phalanges around the jacket calmly. He smiles and gives them a look, snickering a little.

"Cool. Glad to see you understand. Listen... Ya might wanna watch out who you go pranking around this area. I doubt anyone else would have handled this as **egg-cellently** as I have, considering the **egg-streme** offenses you've all just pulled," Sans the Skeleton scolds them casually, watching as the red haired boy frowns and shares a look with the girl next to him, right before they soon are _all_ sharing looks of pure confusion. Sans, however, doesn't let up on his scolding. "Next time you wanna **hatch** a plan, uh... Do it without inconveniencing anyone else. Don't **whisk** it, yeah? Or you're gonna end up **scrambled**."

...

The teens give Sans puzzled stares of bewilderment.

"...What? Don't look so **shell shocked.** You don't like my **egg-stravagant** puns, or what?" Sans inquires, looking in no way ashamed for the atrocities spilling from his mouth. In response, the trio groans and one by one begin looking away and face palming. "Don't **eggs-aggerate** , my jokes aren't _that_ **rotten.** "

"Dude... Seriously?" The black haired boy complains, before Sans starts snickering and quickly snaps back to his serious disposition, causing the three teens to grow quiet once more.

"Nah, but seriously, watch yourselves," Sans reminds them, meeting each of the teens gazes and getting a nod out of each one before turning away and teleporting himself back to the street he left you and Papyrus at.

Whether or not the kids listen to him doesn't matter, but at least he made an effort to get them to think a little on their faulty actions and behavior.

As he turns around a certain corner, the two of you are exactly how he left you. You're leaning over the hood of the car, wiping down the car diligently with a large microfiber cloth while Papyrus takes care of the rear of the vehicle. For the most part, the car is completely clean of egg and dirt, and the two of you are on the drying process of the wash.

Sans originally thought you were crazy to try and clean it by hand, but a quick teleport to the nearest car washes proved you know the place very well. Most are busy and filled with cars waiting for their washes, and one is actually out of business. Had you suggested a car wash, Papyrus' Ferrari likely would have paid the price, but your quick thinking saved the paint job from ruining and embedding a bad smell over it.

 _Papyrus would be devastated if his new car got ruined so soon... We just got it for him last week,_ Sans thinks, exhaling in relief with a smile as he watches you lean over the hood a little more, causing the hem of your dress to rise and reveal a bit of the skin of your thighs. For a second, Sans studies your skin... Until something clamps down roughly on the back of his skull, making his left eye flare up in alarm as he spins around, prepared to fight _whoever_ has the damn gall to-!

"I should have _freaking_ known you'd be here," Undyne snarls softly from behind him with a vicious look, causing Sans' nonexistent stomach to drop to the ground like a one hundred pound weight. Before she can accuse him of anything else, Sans blurts out, "I swear, I'm not here to harass her anymore! I get I was an asshole, I'm just here to-"

"Here to _'what'_ , Bone Boy? Come on, spit it out already," Undyne huffs threateningly, a spear already prepped at hand as she narrows her single right eye on his nervous face, her gold iris sparkling with morbid excitement when she hooks an hand in his undershirt and lifts him off the ground a good foot and a half.

"I'm just here 'cause, uh... I kinda... Wanted to see how it'd go..." Sans trails off, voice growing lower in volume as a shade of blue begins coating his cheekbones, his eye lights averting in another direction while Undyne pulls him in to glare at him from a closer proximity. Sweat begins to coat his skull at her discerning gaze... Until he suddenly realizes something.

With a look of confusion, Sans turns to look back at Undyne, ignoring the fact that he's literally being lifted off the ground as he narrow his eye lights on the fish monster with blazing red hair.

"Wait. Why are _you_ here?" He suddenly turns the question on her, watching as Undyne's expression shifts to surprise- followed closely by embarrassment- and finally indignant anger. Sans swears he sees a vein appear under the scales beneath her temple as her slitted pupil constricts within her gold iris.

"What am _I_ doing here?! You've got some nerve, skeleton..." She barks lowly, glancing around the wall to see you and Papyrus still in the middle of washing the car before turning back to Sans. "Maybe that's _none of your business, you-!"_

** Slllluuurrp... **

Both monsters go still at the sound of a near-empty drink being sipped through a straw, causing them to turn towards their other side, deeper into the alley. Standing there is a small figure in a striped blue and fuscia tee shirt with a drink and a pink and silver MTT brand backpack, their mop of brown hair framing their face as they watch Sans and Undyne with an invested stare of interest. They start sipping once more as soon as the monsters notice their appearance, their brown eyes never wavering from the monsters.

...

"...Really? You and Frisk are spying on (Name) and Paps too?" Sans inquires cheekily, his grin growing even wider than before as he hugs Papyrus' blazer to himself in amusement at the outright _furious_ glare Undyne shoots him in response.

 _"Sans you-!"_ Undyne starts.

"Hey, Miss Human, did you hear that?"

Undyne goes stock still, along with the skeleton still dangling in her grip as they hear Papyrus speak up a bit louder.

"Hmm?" You query with a hum. "Hear what?"

"I could have sworn I heard somebody speak my brother's name just now... Hm, it must have been my extravagant imagination. How are you doing up there?"

Sans and Undyne relax a smidgen, but from beside them, Frisk only giggles quietly to themself, their shoulders shaking as they stare at Undyne's and Sans' panicked expressions. They figured it was going to be a blast tagging along when Undyne mentioned her plans to follow you around on your date. Asgore, who was taking care of Frisk for the day, tried to respectfully talk Undyne out of following, but it appears that no matter the person, no one but Undyne herself can tell Undyne to 'STOP' when she starts...

"It's pretty much clean up here. How about your end?" You audibly ask, making Frisk grin and skip past Undyne and Sans to peer around the corner with a naughty grin. They think you have a very pretty voice.

"...Hypocrite," Sans huffs to Undyne after a second of more mundane conversation between you and Papyrus.

" _Shut up,"_ Undyne growls, until the sound of car doors closing and screeching tires makes the two monsters relax entirely for the most part. Although initially delighted to follow you and Papyrus around, Frisk finally turns to Undyne and Sans with a mild scowl.

 **"I've never seen you two like this. Why are you fighting?"** Frisk signs quickly, frowning in confusion at the suddenly sheepish monsters before them. At this point, Undyne drops Sans on his pink slippered feet, and the two avoid eye contact as they look around for something interesting to avert their gaze on.

"Sans was bullying (Name) before. I don't like him around her," Undyne grunts first before Sans can utter a single word, prompting the shorter skeleton to whip around and narrow his eye lights on her in annoyance.

 _"I_ could have told them that," Sans huffs, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looks away and kicks a stone around.

Frisk raises a brow at Sans, prompting the skeleton to sigh when he feels their stares on him. He starts pacing around, avoiding their gazes on him as he starts talking. He's sure that if he looks up, he's going to falter or lose the words he wants to express regarding his behavior.

"Look, I know I behaved wrong. I feel bad for what I've done, and I already apologized to her and everything. She won't forgive me and I don't blame her one bit for it. To be honest, I really don't know why I acted like that towards her- and Libby's statement about (Name) is _not_ the reason why I had such a grudge on her. I just felt... _Angry._ I don't know where it came from, but after some thinking, I don't feel that way anymore," Sans explains, pausing his pacing as he finds something shiny on the ground- what looks to be a very expensive looking ring and a silver chain close by on the sidewalk near the mouth of the alley. With a few more steps, Sans bends over to pick it up between his skeletal fingers, giving it a curious look as Undyne's and Frisk's footsteps follow him out of the alley.

There's some writing in the inner area of the ring, but it's written in a different language...

 _Hm..._ Sans thinks, before evidently tucking it into his pocket. With something valuable like this, you can ask _anyone_ if it's theirs and they will ninety-nine point nine percent of the time say 'yes'. Whoever the owner is, it's likely Sans will have to wait there to see if they return for it. Unfortunately... He doesn't have the time at the moment to do that. Maybe later he can do it, but it's almost guaranteed that the owner will pass by before he returns to this spot.

It's likely the ring will never find its way back to its owner, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right?

"...Anyways," Sans speaks up again, hand shoved in his pocket with the ring and necklace chain. "I want to make it up to her. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I'm working on it. I don't care how long it takes- I want to show her I'm not the di- um, _jerk_ that made that horrible first impression on her in the beginning."

Frisk makes a small noise behind him, causing Sans to turn and find the kid jumping around Undyne in excitement, before quickly signing something to her that Sans can _just_ barely make out from the odd angle and distance.

 **"Ship, ship, ship!"** Is what Frisk is signing along the lines of, hands cupped with pinkies against each other as they dip their hands like it's a floating boat enthusiastically, causing Sans to cock his head to the side in confusion. He has no idea what Frisk means by that term.

All the while, Undyne dramatically rolls her eyes and snorts in disbelief, looking exasperated for whatever reason Sans can't understand due to loss of context. It's obvious he's missing a certain part of the subject...

"Yeah _right_. Girlie, hates Sans' guts like there's no tomorrow, I _doubt_ your ship will be happening anytime in the near or distant future," Undyne replies, only confusing Sans even further. Although, the longer he stands there thinking... He might have heard Alphys and Undyne saying something like that in the past to each other, though he understood about as much of it then as he does right now- exactly _zilch._

"... What do you two mean by 'ship'?" Sans speaks up after a full minute of Frisk continuing to sign **'ship'** , making Undyne and Frisk return their gazes to him with creepy smiles of secretive amusement.

 _"Nothing~!"_ Undyne chirps in a sing-song voice, prompting Sans to give her and Frisk a less-than satisfied leer of exasperation.

"...Alright, whatever. I'm heading to the restaurant Papyrus said they'd be eating at. You two need a lift?" Sans inquires, causing Undyne to shake her head and lift Frisk up, who waves as they are propped with their legs around the back of Undyne's neck, their empty cup once again in one hand.

"Nah, Bone Boy. We got this, Frisk is the one that helped Paps with his plans anyways," Undyne says with a wild grin, before smiling a little warmer towards Sans. "... Glad to see you've snapped out of that funk of yours though, nerd."

With that, Undyne shoots Sans a salute and takes off in a run, leaving Sans in her dust as she hauls Frisk along with her, the kid laughing that childish laughter of theirs as they vanish off in the distance.

...

Sans laughs a little once they're gone. He _knew_ Papyrus had gotten his help from Frisk...

With a **Pop! ** of magic, Sans teleports himself to a good location behind a lifeguard post near the beach- where he spies you and Papyrus sitting at a table conveniently near the edge of the restaurant where Sans can see everything going on from his vantage point.

 _Perfect_ , Sans thinks with a grin, eyeing the way you glare at a waiter by your table with crossed arms and legs. It's a look Sans recognizes as your version of a warning to people that are getting on your nerves. If he remembers correctly, you've give _him_ that look a couple of times before- but this time it seems even sharper than before.

Sans snickers when he sees the waiter nervously pointing away, clearly attempting to run away from your mad dogging scowl as you stare him dead in the eye. Of course, he lingers to scribble down your orders first, and then leaves you and Papyrus alone to converse.

Surprisingly, Papyrus appears to say something that makes you wave at him and visibly struggle to hide what appears to be a smile. Sans can only wonder what is being said, considering his distance from the two of you. As a result, Sans leans against the wall by the inside of the lifeguard hut, staring at the expressions that cross your face and his brother's face as the two of you talk and wait for your meals.

Since the start of the date, you've been awfully nice to Papyrus. You've helped get that sticky juice off his nice shoes while he was cleaning his feet before, you've persuaded him to clean his car before proceeding with the date- to save the vehicle from bad smell and a deteriorating paint job- and furthermore, you've allowed him to escort you everywhere as if you really _believed_ this to be a real date.

Papyrus himself looks so happy, speaking and posing whenever the conversation calls for it- extracting a smile and a snicker from you every now and then until your meals arrive. Even then, it appears the good mood does not dwindle, despite how it had before with the juice spillage and car egging.

"Hey, wha'd we miss?!" A voice, obviously Undyne's, blurts out as she climbs up the lifeguard hut and joins Sans in watching you and Papyrus eating quietly- his brother pausing in eating every now and then to say something to you. At the sight of a smile that appears on your face, Undyne's eye nearly bulges out of its socket. "Holy crap, is she _smiling?_ Ohhhhh, I _knew it!_ She totally _is_ a closet marshmallow!!"

Sans is about to say something to her, but that's when he notices a human behind you saying something loudly, evidently causing you and Papyrus to look up in confusion.

"Huh. What's going on with that dude?" Undyne questions quietly, leering over Sans' shoulder to peer at the scene with Frisk still over her shoulders doing the same. They no longer have their drink at hand- this time munching on a chicken tamale wrapped in foil as they watch the scene unfold.

There's talking, mostly from Papyrus and the human male... Sans can tell you're less than pleased by this rude intrusion to your date, only driving Undyne's point that you don't actually hate monsters as much as you claimed you did.

Papyrus says something that makes you turn your head to gawk at him, and when Sans spots his brother's brow bones waggling teasingly at you, he lets out a laugh. Oh- it's obvious Papyrus has just cracked a joke. By the look on your face, it's clear you assumed he didn't like jokes at all- especially considering Papyrus reactions to Sans' jokes.

The other human behind you waves the joke off carelessly, like it's not important, and keeps speaking. The more that human male behind you talks, the more annoyed you look. The man has to pause to say something to a smaller human across the table that looks as frustrated and vexed as you do, but is soon talking to Papyrus again...

And that's when the glass in your hand shatters loudly into a bunch of sharp shards of broken pieces, your expression never shifting from the look of pure anger that has etched into your features. Frisk gasps over Undyne, eyes wide as they watch you open your mouth. Even Sans focuses his gaze to read your lips, dying to know what you have to say.

 _"That's none of your business- and you'd better watch your mouth,"_ Sans just barely manages to read, considering you've said this slowly and carefully, making sure the man understands your warning.

Unfortunately, a host briskly makes their way over to your table to say something to you and Papyrus, but before you can spit some choice words at him like it _looks_ like you want to, Papyrus grabs you and is soon hopping over the border of the restaurant with you in tow, only setting you down on the sand once you're both outside of the restaurant grounds.

"Your service was _garbage_ anyways!" You bark back up at the host in a satisfied snarl, loudly enough that the three in the lifeguard hut start laughing to themselves.

"Wow, that's the second time Girlie's broken a glass around us. The first time, she was screaming at me because I wouldn't stop teasing her and making fun of her... And the glass water dispenser Alphys and I had in our kitchen just randomly shattered like it was _nothing!"_ Undyne brags a little about you, causing Sans to turn and look up at her in confusion.

"Wait, you've _seen_ her do that before? So have you told her she might have magic then?" Sans asks, making Undyne nod in response.

"Yeah, she flipped out and shit, but I promised I'd take care of her, so no need to worry about her accidentally hurting anyone. We still don't know for sure, but if she does... Well, eventually it'll be obvious enough. If monsters can't suppress the need to use magic, it's likely that human mages can't either. It would be _seriously_ bad for her health," Undyne comments, causing Sans to blink and think back to that headache of yours at the beginning of the date.

"I think she's getting sick, now that you mention it... Were you two watching when they were walking along the pier?" Sans inquires, making Frisk sign ' **no'** as Undyne shakes her head. "Well, Miss Human had a bit of a bad headache and convinced Papyrus to continue the date despite it."Even earlier she-"

Sans stops dead in his explanation, flushing a light shade of blue in accordance to his recollection.

 _Oh right. I was under her bed and sneaking around after she collapsed in the kitchen and ended up sleepwalking,_ Sans recalls, before continuing with, "W-well, even earlier, she almost passed out when I was with that human Alan. We, uh... Ran into her, so to speak. She was sleepwalking."

Undyne's brows raise in surprise.

"Girlie _sleepwalks?_ Holy shit... That's cool!" She blurts out, making Frisk shake his head with a quiet sigh, before leaning forward to sign in her face.

 **"No, it's actually not. People have gotten really hurt from sleepwalking in the past. In fact, I've heard of some stories about people that have done some serious things while sleepwalking- like burglary!"** Frisk signs quickly, causing Undyne to gape and then mutter, "O-oh... I guess that's not really that cool then."

...

...?

"Hey, where'd Paps and Girlie go?" Undyne questions in confusion, causing  Sans and Frisk to begin swinging around in confusion. From where they're looking, they can see the restaurant straight ahead with the city behind, but neither you nor Papyrus in sight.

At this, Frisk finally hops down from Undyne's shoulders, moving around to look for you and Papyrus on the beach. Undyne shifts around anxiously, as if worried she'll make a wrong move and you'll spot her from wherever you are. Likewise, Sans moves around carefully, though he's a little more confident in his movement since he's gotten a lot of practice sneaking around _your_ home.

It's only until Frisk gasps from the entire other end of the hut that Sans and Undyne look up. They soon join Frisk and...

"Oh... Damn, I figured he'd be bummed out by the way the date's been going, but I didn't think he'd be _that_ upset," Undyne states, watching and frowning almost in annoyance at the sight. "I'm sure he could still salvage it, he better not be giving up _just_ yet..."

Sans watches with wide sockets as you move to face Papyrus, visibly going out of your way to speak to him- something you don't do much and haven't changed in doing throughout the date. You've answered when prompted, said a few things here and there... But right now, you're literally talking up a storm by the looks of things. Are you trying to cheer Papyrus up?

Frisk pouts at the scene below, fiddling with the aluminum around their snack without taking a bite. Looks like their appetite has left with the good mood of your date, but they're more worried about Papyrus than they are of their meal, wrapping it back up and tucking it away in their backpack as they watch you attempt to bring the spark of enthusiasm Papyrus is famous for.

"...She's trying, ain't she?" Undyne comments warmly, a rather out of character tone for such a rowdy monster that used to swear on her every spear to kebab any human to fall underground. "That's got to count for something. Come on, Paps, just...?"

Undyne trails off and raises her head a little in confusion when you stand up out of nowhere. There's a secretive smile on your face, and at the sight of it, she falls silent and watches intently with her single gold eye.

Likewise, Sans and Frisk do the same when they see you move.

At first, you walk around Papyrus so you're in front of him. There's a certain way you're moving that's very odd to the three that watch you from the lifeguard hut, almost as if you're about to...

The pirouette catches Sans and Undyne completely off guard, causing the two monster's jaws to unhinge from their skulls as they stare at your form when you begin to move with the music from the restaurant. Frisk, on the other hand, looks elated by your sudden inspiration to dance, and moves back to try and mimic your movements with a bright smile.

None of them had even noticed the music start to play from the restaurant to begin with, but watching you move the way you are now makes them hyperaware as you fluidly direct your body into every note with a startlingly accurate precision.

Undyne jealously notes- if _she_ herself tried that, she'd likely fail like she had when she challenged you to an elasticity contest doing the splits.

"Oh my god," Undyne blurts out, staring at the way your dress spins, catching water at the hem and sticking to your calves a bit as you peek at Papyrus. Upon seeing you do this, Undyne moves her gaze over to Papyrus... And snorts with laughter when she finds his head raised, the skeleton's attention focused solely on you. "I think she's put an enchantment on your bro, nerd!"

...

No answer.

Undyne frowns and turns away to look at Sans in confusion to his lack of a response, but is soon distracted by Frisk's familiar bubbly giggle. Frisk points at Sans in excitement, still jumping around and trying to dance like you in the midst of their laughter. When Undyne's eye finally lands on the shorter skeleton brother... She almost starts laughing even harder.

If Papyrus is spellbound, Sans is (surprisingly) _twice_ as stupefied by your dancing. He's leaning on the wall, eye lights completely focused you as you turn to reach towards Papyrus- inviting him to dance with you.

Sans has never seen someone dance so... _fluidly._ Not even Moldsmals could compare, and those guys are _great_ at doing their little dances. You look like the water over a calm ocean, allowing the music to wrap around your every muscle and direction in whichever way possible.

With Papyrus up on his feet, your dancing becomes a little less formal, but it's still strangely spellbinding- despite your playful movements that successfully earn a laugh and a smile from Papyrus for your efforts. His brother spins you around elegantly, though if it isn't for you giving the dance your complete effort, it's likely Papyrus wouldn't be doing the same as a result. Papyrus is no dancer like you are, he's never taken a class in his life... But even Sans has to admit that he sure as hell _looks_ like he's taken one or two classes before.

Sans and the other two fall dead silent when Papyrus suddenly lifts you up off your feet and hurls you up in the air. Rather than freak out like Undyne and Sans _expect_ you to, you display even more phenomenal control of the segments of your body by twisting around and forcing your body face down, falling back down to Papyrus with your limbs extended out as he catches you in his grip easily and you begin that calm dancing of-

_"SANS!"_

In his hypnotic state, Sans immediately jerks violently at the sound of his name being barked so close to him, causing him to jump a good foot in the air until he finds Undyne and Frisk laughing amongst themselves at his reaction. They're definitely ridiculing him for something he's done, but Sans can't quite figure out what for- nor does he find any interest in finding out since he's still focused on you.

He glances at his companions for a second in annoyance, but when he looks back at you and Papyrus curiously, he finds you in the shallows of the shore, drenched in seawater head to toe with that really nice dress of yours with Papyrus standing over you in a state of shock.

 _Oh boy,_ Sans thinks, waiting for you to finally explode at his brother...

...

But you don't.

Instead, you throw your head back with Papyrus in unison, the two of you bursting out laughing or a good few minutes before Papyrus helps you on your feet and starts talking to you enthusiastically, his battery of excitement charged to one hundred percent again after the dance the two of you shared.

"Well, looks like Girlie ended up saving the date, huh? What did I tell ya, nerd? She's the perfect candidate to be my best friend!" Undyne snorts, slapping the back of Sans' shoulder blade enough to make him jerk forward with a soft growl under his breath.

Meanwhile, in the background, Frisk is still trying to mimic your dance moves. They figure they're going to have to have you teach them some things... If you're willing, that is. After all, you may have finished your date with Papyrus, but _they_ are still expecting a date with you too.

"...Whoa, whoa, what are they saying? Look at Pap's face, she's saying something! She's-?" Undyne states, until Papyrus lets out a loud screech of unintelligible words, picking you up again in his arms- this time to spin you around in his arms out of sheer joy.

"Oh _, Miss Human~!_ I'm so proud of you! You have grown so much! AND IT'S ONLY BEEN A FEW DAYS SINCE YOU WERE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL!" Papyrus audibly shouts at the top of his nonexistent lungs, evidently making Undyne laugh a bit... Until she grows quiet and a look of confusion spreads across her features. Noticing this, Frisk stops dancing and pokes Sans' back, making the skeleton look at them before they direct their finger to Undyne. Noticing something off, Sans raises a brow bone at Undyne.

"Something wrong?" Sans inquires, making Undyne shift her single eye around like she's searching for something. Her brows are furrowed in confusion and she's biting on the sharp nail of her left thumb, but after a moment, she looks back up at Sans and Frisk.

"Papyrus is right. It's only been a few days since the hospital," Undyne states, though her tone does not display the same excitement as Papyrus' tone does in the background.

Her words prompt Sans and Frisk to share looks of confusion before looking back up at her much taller form.

"...And? Is there something wrong about that?" Sans presses, watching Undyne nod much to his surprise.

"It's only been a few days since the hospital... Since she had a _knife_ lodged in her side. Do humans really recover _that_ fast? The way she was dancing here... No, even before that. The freaking night we were watching movies and Papyrus accidentally made her flip back with her feet to her shoulder blades... She's barely showed much pain to the location at all- other than when I accidentally dropped her directly _on_ the wound itself the following morning," Undyne observes, biting her lip in concern. "Think it's got anything to do with magic?"

Sans shifts from foot to foot. After his last judgment on you, why should Undyne trust his words? He's likely going to be wrong.

"Uh... I don't think I'm the person you should be asking somethin' like that. You should go ask King Asgore or Tori. After how I pegged (Name), I don't even trust my _own_ judgment much right now..." Sans admits honestly, causing the fish monster to sigh and turn to glance out the window.

...

 **"They're leaving. This is supposed to be the end of the date... Maybe they want to hang out more?"** Frisk comments in sign from beside the two, causing Sans to look up to see you and Papyrus leaving, arm in arm once more. Your dress is sticking to every inch of your body, exposing your curves and shape as you-

"See something you like, Bone Boy?" A voice huffs sensually by his head, causing Sans to flush a furious shade of blue as he spins around to nail Undyne with a dark light-less glare of warning.

 _"Don't go there,"_ he warns, this time avoiding looking in your direction at all cost. Sure, he's growing a bit curious about the human body... But not _yours_ specifically. You're just conveniently around enough for him to study. However, the last thing he needs is for Undyne and Frisk to think he has some kind of crush on you and start thinking the two of you are going to eventually get to-

...?!

"Is **_that_ ** what 'shipping' is?!" He suddenly barks in embarrassment and fury, only a minute too late since Undyne is already cackling loudly, running off with Frisk blowing a raspberry back at Sans from over her shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope that first part has you itching to see what comes in the next chapter! :3 (PLOT, PLOT, PLOT~!)
> 
> Which I swear will come out EARLY on FRIDAY!!! *more sobbing*
> 
> ._. I'm so sorry...! Nyeh...!!
> 
> Links of absolute guilt, yo:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)


	27. Bodies and Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon returning home, you find Halley is missing! Where is she? And what does Static have to do with this incident?

Chapter 27: Bodies and Dust

“I had a good time,” you admit with a smile as you step up to your front door with Papyrus by your side, blazer shrugged over his shoulders after finding it lying randomly in the backseat of his car. He assumed he left it in the back on accident without realizing, but you suspect it’s something a little more… _Sanspicious_.

…Okay, that was bad, you’ll admit that much. Does that mean you believe Sans doesn’t have anything to do with the mysterious reappearance of Papyrus’ blazer? _Hell no._

You heard him earlier- he’s been _watching you._ Like, a little skeletal stalker at your heels. For a moment there, you almost thought his good behavior giving you that notebook of the Super Stupid Brother Language meant the start of something anew. Clearly, however, this is not the case.

“Oh, did you, Miss Human?! I enjoyed our date together as well! In fact, I can’t wait to recount everything to Sir Human later when I return to my homely abode! He asked me to give him the details afterwards and wished our date much success,” Papyrus informs you, prompting your smile to become stiff with self-conscious uneasiness. At this, Papyrus leers at you, eye sockets squinting rather studiously at your expression as you barely manage to repress your true feelings regarding this news.

 _Alan asked Papyrus to relay the date progress to him?_ You think, resisting the urge to drill the tall skeleton on anything else Alan may have said to him.

“Did he now?” You question, watching Papyrus’ cheek bones rise with interest at your cryptic words.

“...Miss Human, please correct me if I am wrong about this assumption of mine, but… Are you perhaps romantically interested in Sir Human?” He asks knowingly as you fumble to open your door, keeping a pleasant smile pasted to your faced despite your horror at Papyrus knowing your (not so) secret crush on Alan.

See, Undyne already blurted it out oh so blatantly to Alan himself, so you’re not so worried about _that_ part. What you’re _really_ worried about is Papyrus attempting to get you and Alan together with his dating expertise.

In other words, you really need to sell this- or you may never be able to look Alan in the eye again. Worse, maybe Alan will never be able to look _you_ in the eye again!

“Nooo! Alan is just a friend. I _admire_ him, that’s all,” you say- half smiling at your words since you’re technically not lying whatsoever. You shake off your nerves and straighten up a little, smiling at the skeleton boldly. “No romantic feelings whatsoever.”

Papyrus stares you down for a good minute or two, but you retain that smile and disposition of yours as you wait for him to nod in comprehension or drop the subject altogether. His expression is that of someone trying to look straight through you, making you secretly relieved that he doesn’t have the same kind of ability Sans has with looking into the private sanctums of the soul.

…

“...Miss Human, you are in no way convincing me otherwise with that adorable smile you are boasting,” Papyrus informs you after a second or two, causing your expression to shift into mild annoyance as you look up at him with a small growl. Rather than flinch back or shrink away, Papyrus snickers at your response and pats the top of your head warmly with an affable smile. “Now, now, no need to be so defensive! I merely had the need to inquire this for specific purposes that I am not at liberty to tell you yet!”

You drop your glare to raise an inquisitive eyebrow up at him. “...Huh?” You ask, only to receive a bubbly giggle of delight in reply as Papyrus spins you around to face your front door. If you had a balance like Libby, that would have caused you to fall face first into the ground. Thankfully, your muscles are practically ready for anything, and you safely twist in place without any fault.

“I trust you will contact either Undyne or myself if you are in need of assistance with anything! Thank you for the magnificent night with a magnificent skeleton, Miss Human! _Nyeh heh heh!”_ Papyrus shouts as he runs off, leaving you to glance over your shoulder and watch him hustle back over to his car. You stand there very confused despite the date already being over, but rather than continue to think about his outlandish behavior, you shake it out of your head with a bit of an eye roll.

 _Weird… Oh well, when is Papyrus_ not _weird?_ You think to yourself, turning to face the door again and-

…?

The door is open a crack. Why is it open? Sure, the lock is broken from Halley’s impressive herculean kick, but the duct tape you’ve used to keep it shut has been ripped off the door entirely, leaving it swinging as you reach out and eventually push it it open tentatively.

In the background, you can hear the sound of Papyrus’ Ferrari speeding off down the street suddenly after you step inside, and you smile at the fact that he’s nice enough to wait and see watch you enter your home safely before driving off.

The house is dead silent as you close the front door (as much as you can) and walk in. A quick peek towards the slot between the couch and the wall near the litter box reveals that notebook Sans gave you, the book having to do with the Super Stupid Brother Language. You should probably give it a read now that you’re back, but you figure you’ll do it once you’ve checked on everyone and have settled on the couch.

The house is dead silent as you approach the kitchen and place some extra Nice Creams you purchased with Papyrus from a monster vendor near the arcade the two of you visited before you were returned to your home, waiting for the sound of demanding mewls as the magnetic strip around the freezer makes that distinctive sound Brownie loves to interpret as, “meat snack from the cold box”.

The house is dead silent as you frown and turn to look towards the bedrooms and living room.

_...Why is everything so quiet?_

“...Libby? Are you here?” You call out with a leveled voice of curiosity, walking over ot her room and pushing the ajar door open.

On your best friend’s bed is her purse- the one you recognize she’s currently using as you scan the room for signs of life. For the most part, Libby has definitely been here, but she’s not in her room or the bathroom. It’s likely that she stepped out or something, maybe to take a jog around the nearby park.

With that, you close the door back to it’s original position and move over to your bedroom door, knocking hesitantly. “Halley, are you in there?” You query carefully, just a little nervous about Libby arriving and catching your words. When there is no immediate reply, you try again with a louder knock. “It’s (Name), I’m back.”

…

No response. Is she maybe asleep?

You take the doorknob in your hand and turn it, pushing the door open carefully in case she really _is_ asleep. Looking inside your room, however…

Nobody is in there.

This disappearance of your house guest _definitely_ surprises you. She came here for help, crying like something was out to get her… Why would she leave the house after _that?_

After a few seconds of absorbing this, you stand in your bedroom doorway with a frown of confusion. Something else is missing here…

…?

Where’s Brownie?

You begin clicking your tongue around the entire house, glancing in the kitten’s favorite hiding places and dens with growing concern as you search for the brown and white little animal. After a reasonable amount of time, you walk over to the kitchen and grab the container of cat kibble from underneath the sink, sourly noting the drastic decrease in kitty chow (why do you have a feeling Sans has something to do with this as well?) as you lift it up high and shake it a couple of times.

Your sour little pussy cat may not always respond when you call out it’s name or click your tongue, but the sound of food _always_ has it running out of it’s dens for a snack- stumbling over items and their own limbs to get to the kitchen as fast as possible.

…

…

...No respon-

_“Meee-wwww! Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee-wwww!”_

_Ah, there’s that naughty little feline,_ you think with a satisfied grin. Ha! ALWAYS works.

You place the food container on the counter with a grin, walking around the bar of the kitchen in search of the meowing, but… There’s nothing there?

 _“Meeewww-eeeeeww!!”_ The kitten’s demanding becomes sharper and bossier, until you lift your head towards the front door when you hear the sound of the kitten scratching desperately at the door pane on the opposite side.

_Who left the door open long enough for the kitten to...?_

You shake this thought off as you walk over to the door and pull it open, allowing the kitten entry as it makes a beeline for the kitchen in search of the promised meal. As soon as the feline passes you, however, you lean out of the doorway to look around the front yard curiously. Maybe Halley and Libby ended up running into each other and took a walk…?

Peering around the front yard, the sprinklers switch on and begin spraying water across the lawn. There’s nobody outside right now… And although it’s night, it’s still relatively as warm as it’s been the past few days.

…

With a sigh, you close the broken door (as much as you possibly can without a functioning lock or click from the doorknob to the doorframe), turning back to walk over to your room as you yank off your belt and dress. Within minutes, you have on a charcoal colored tank top and black leggings with a reflective orange stripe down both outer sides of your legs, retaining your French braid and wiping off the last of your makeup as you head on towards the exit.

With a relatively good accuracy, you toss the makeup wipe into the nearby trashcan in the living room and take a seat with your sneakers and socks at hand, pulling both socks on and shoving your feet in your shoes.

 _Maybe they’re around the park a few blocks down?_ You think, standing up despite the incessant meowing from your kitten, who is becoming even more frustrated by the lack of cat chow.

Before you walk out the door, you let out a loud groan and walk back over to the kitchen, followed closely by Brownie when the cat realizes your intentions. You dump the appropriate amount of kibble in the kitty-cat’s dish and slam the open container and lid on top of the counter carelessly, knowing the kitten can’t possibly jump up there.

As soon as you’ve dealt with the ever hungry feline, you march out the swinging door with your phone and open up your messaging app. Upon stepping outside, a humid breeze hits your skin, causing you to stop dead in your tracks and look up from your smartphone screen immediately.

You allow your gaze to drift out towards the dark street just at the bottom of the driveway, your body frozen in place like an ice sculpture. There’s a bit of a thin mist settling around your lawn from the sprinklers, giving the night an ominous look despite the street lights overlooking the sidewalk in front of the property lit up to a relatively reasonable luminosity.

Why aren’t you moving?

You bite your lip and decidedly distract yourself with messaging Halley before you continue on. Maybe this is a bad idea… Especially with the front door being broken and everything. You and Libby own some relatively valuable goods, thanks to her family’s wealth. What if someone takes the opportunity to break in while you’re out looking for Libby and Halley?

_“Halley, where’d you go?”_

You hit send and begin to put your phone away, only for it to suddenly vibrate the second it’s about to be tucked in the waistband of your pants. As you note the immediate reply, you also catch sight of the missing duct tape from the front door attached to the wall beside the door itself, prompting you to quickly reapply it to the front door before giving it a ridiculous look.

Yeah, duct tape will _definitely_ make potential robbers reconsider!

 _Stupid,_ you mutter as you turn away from the door and pull your phone out, opening the lock screen with your fingerprint reader on the back as you open your new message and-

**Pop!**

Your eyes nearly pop open at that distinctive sound, but other than a wide eyed look of absolute rage you shoot back at your closed front door, you don’t attempt to walk back into the house to face _him_. But seriously, _who the **hell** does he think he is?! _ He can’t just pop into people’s homes like that! Can’t he teleport out by the front door and knock like a _normal_ person?!

“...Shit... Wrong place,” you hear Sans’ deep voice murmur just barely, but other than that, you don’t hear the **Pop!** of his departure. You’re aware he can be sneaky with his teleportation if he wants to be, so you’re not sure if he’s teleported out sneakily… Or if he’s still in your home chilling out.

_...Okay, so maybe he didn’t mean to break into the house, BUT **STILL!**_

You refocus your attention on your phone with a frustrated head shake of disgust… And frown in confusion when you’re met with a long string of characters you don’t recognize. Well, okay, it’s not like you _don’t_ know what these symbols are, they’re identifiable in a singular sense per symbol. There’s pointing fingers, arrow, a bomb, large ‘X’s and gender symbols among many others, but… If they’re making some kind of message though, you can’t read it.

Before you can text back, a bunch of notifications begin to flood your phone from an unknown number, and you flinch in surprise at the loud compilation of **Pings!** that emits from your phone as you wait for it to calm down.

If Sans is still inside your home, he would have _definitely_ heard all that…!

You peek back towards the front door and stare for a few minutes. Other than another humid breeze, nothing causes it to swing open, and you relax with an exhale of relief. You hardly feel like dealing with Sans at the moment, since your house guest is AWOL as of now, and you return your gaze to your messages.

You scroll to the top of the new thread and stare at the continued list of-

…

…? It’s spelling something out with those strange characters. Looks tedious to have texted that, but you quickly read what it says anyways.

**F-O-L-L-O-W.**

Your brow knits together curiously as you try to make sense of this message. “Follow”? Follow what?

You throw up a hand of frustration, giving your phone a glare. What is that supposed to mean? And… You drop your glare to allow your face to blanch with sudden unease. Regardless of what it means you should be following, do you even _want_ to obey such a sketchy order? Even if you do find out what it is you’re supposed to be following?

**P-P-P-P-P-Ping!**

You open another thread, with a new unidentified number that has the same kind of texting style and symbols.

**H-A-L-L-E-Y.**

If you were pale after the _last_ text, you’re absolutely drained of all the blood from your face. Halley?! Who’s messaging you about Halley…? Is she with somebody? Is she maybe in trouble? ...Or is this some kind of elaborate joke?

Your expression becomes laden with irritation as you message back to the last unknown number spelling out Halley’s name, stabbing the screen of your phone as you type.

 _“Who is this? Is this a joke?”_ You demand, hitting send. No more than a second later, a series of messages arrive, and you scroll through yet another brand new thread quickly.

**L-I-G-H-T-S.**

You look up curiously, wondering what this new message is supposed to mean… Until you notice something odd out of the corner of your eye along the sidewalk down the end of the driveway.

The lights along the street are flickering on and off.

Now, this wouldn’t be strange on any normal occasion- the streetlights here are _always_ going out of whack and blinking on or off at random… However, that’s just not what’s going on right now, because what you see along the sidewalk is _extremely_ strange.

The five lights leading down the street are flickering on and off in a certain pattern, in a way that makes it appear like it’s travelling down the street in an orderly fashion. You’ve seen moving lights like these- but only as decorative house lights for Christmas or Halloween.

As you stare down at the street, your jaw drops a little and you nearly lose your grip on your phone in the process.

...Whoever’s messaging you… How in the world are they _doing_ that?

_Should I be calling Undyne? This seems like it has a high probability of being magic related- is it safe to be following the lights?_

…

What if this is Static trying to contact you?

Your fingers grip your phone tightly as you text a reply, taking a deep breath as you type.

_“Static?”_

The reply is instant, and you breathe out in surprise when you receive the message.

**G-A-S-T-E-R.**

Who is Gaster? The same person as Static? Or someone different? Can’t they just reply with-?

**P-P-P-Ping!**

**S-A-M-E.**

You reach back to scratch your neck curiously, unsure of what to do at that point.

 _So Static’s real name is Gaster? Is that it? Ugh, there’s not enough context to be making accurate assumptions, but it’ll have to do for the meantime,_ you think, biting your lip and looking down the street.

…This Gaster person hasn’t been dangerous to you at all so far, so it can’t be something bad, right? Would it really hurt to follow? Especially if it has something to do with Halley?

…

As another humid breeze hits you, you’re immediately reminded as to why you’d frozen on your doorstep in the _first_ place.

What if you get ambushed or attacked again like last time? Should you really go alone? You risked it before when Sans locked you out of Undyne’s house, but you were half asleep and hardly using your brain at the time. It was stupid of you to run off, that’s for sure…

So will you be traversing through the night again?

A quick glance at the time on your phone reveals the time to be 2:24 AM as of now.

You were hanging out with Papyrus for a long time at this popular arcade a couple of miles inland, an arcade for _adults_ (which made Papyrus gaze at you throughout the night with such acceptance and pride) that stays open till two in the morning. You’re tired, and want nothing more than to hurl yourself towards your bed and fall asleep. Since Halley was invited to stay, however, you were going to pull out a sleeping bag from your closet and sleep on the floor in your room.

Looking back up at the blinking lights eventually extracts a decision out of you.

You step forward to get to the sidewalk down the street and-

**Bonk!**

“Ow! What the…? (Name)?” You stumble back, rubbing your forehead and looking at whoever’s bumped into you upon turning the corner up to the front door patio. The wall they suddenly appeared around makes you shoot the house a sour look, but when you see who it is before you, you stiffen up in surprise.

It’s _Libby._

“I was wondering when you’d get home. I heard from Papyrus you were going on a date with him, but I didn’t actually believe... You didn’t go dressed like _that_ , did you?” Libby inquires, striking up a conversation as if there’s been no qualms between the two of you as of late.

Behind, you notice the lights down the street stop their blinking, retaining light along the five street lamps as if nothing weird was ever happening in the first place

 _Wait, why did it just stop? Wouldn’t Stati- I mean, Gaster, have noticed her presence while she was walking up? It’s not like she freaking teleported here like Sans…_ You think curiously, raising a slight eyebrow until you remember that Libby is still waiting for your reply.

“No,” you answer shortly, glancing back over her shoulder for any sign of Gaster’s presence still lingering.

As if noticing your intent, the light closest to your driveway blinks twice, and you conceal a twitch at the corner of your lips. Okay, so Gaster is still here…

“Good! ...Um, by the way… What happened to the door?” Libby asks next, nearly blowing your eased composure as you turn and give the door a studious glance and a shake of your head.

“No idea,” you simply lie, turning back to see Libby giving you a funny look… and reaching out to take your hand.

Before she can grab hold, you jump back with a startled expression of anxiety aimed towards her. For a second, Libby looks shocked by your reaction… Until you let out a soft laugh of embarrassment and shift your gaze away sheepishly. Whoops! You did _not_ mean to do that… Way to appear suspicious. Go, you.

“S-sorry! I’m a little jumpy from playing a zombie game at the arcade earlier with Papyrus… I wanted to go on a bit of a jog down the street before I went back in. You don’t mind, do you? I have my phone on me and a few numbers on speed dial, so I’ll be okay…” You say, hating how you’re practically asking her for permission. Hey, you have to appeal to her _somehow_ , or she’s just going to keep ignoring you. Better to break the ice with some normalcy before tackling the unspoken issues that still need to be solved…

...After that, it’s likely that she’s going to rub the whole _“I knew monsters were good!”_ shit in your face. Ughhhh…

“Of course I mind, you nimrod!” She suddenly lashes out, whacking your shoulder hard enough to smart a little. You let out a whine of annoyance, but she calms down as soon as the temper starts, putting her hands on her hips and sighing. “But... I know I can’t _make_ you stay. Even though I think you’re completely stupid to be walking around so soon after your injury from the hospital.”

 _Injury?_ You think in confusion, until you recall your stab wound that has surprisingly escaped your mind since… Well, it hasn’t been aching or hurting at all. You took off that shitty bandage long time ago, literally the morning after you were released when you took a shower at Undyne’s place. Since then, it hasn’t hurt and you haven’t even glanced at it once or considered anything regarding its state.

“Oh, right… Yeah. I’m doing good now though, trust me,” you insist, not letting her in on your true discomfort at the reminder of your practically non existent wound. Magic? Coincidence? Stellar healing skills? Or what?

“...Alright. If you need a ride though, _call me,”_ Libby states firmly, looking you in the eye unabashedly. “I know we still have things to resolve, but if you get hurt again…” She trails off, wincing and then walking around you with a soft sigh. “Stay safe, (Name).”

You turn to watch her walk over to the front door, the tall blonde giving the front door a sarcastic snort of amusement and peeling open the door from the doorframe to step inside.

 _Finally_ … You think with a soft exhale of relief, before glancing down at the sidewalk, where the streetlights have commenced blinking in that directing pattern from before. You start walking down the driveway at a brisk pace, but take the time to pull your shirt up and glance back at the area where you once had your stab wound.

…

Nothing’s there, but regular old smooth skin.

 _Why did something like this just escape my mind like that? This is so weird, people can’t heal like this… It’s only been a few days since I was released from the hospital! Papyrus said so himself!_ You think, yanking your shirt back down and beginning to speed up to a jog once you reach the sidewalk.  _I can think about this later- If Libby is home, that means Halley is still missing. And Gaster knows something about it._

As soon as the lights begin to blink on ahead, they lead you down the street, keeping up with your jogging pace. You continue jogging on as you are led down some alleys, though you continue to progress despite your anxiety by reminding yourself that Gaster has done nothing to you yet- and other than your weird dizzy spells and dreams, they’ve only been around to warn you of things. No way would this Gaster lead you into danger… Right?

You don’t let yourself indulge in doubt- clinging to optimism as you near a crossing and exhaling heavily when you notice the light trail ending above you. The alley goes dark around you.

 _Great, no more lights… Now what?_ You wonder, looking around for another light source. You stand there for a second or two before yelping when sparks suddenly fly from the wires along the buildings ahead of you, making your eyes widen in surprise. How is Gaster doing that?

The simple answer, Magic, plays in the back of your mind, but you ignore it in favor of following the sparks aimlessly as you take in the pretty blue and gold colors of electricity flying off of it. You know it’s Gaster doing it, using another means of leading you to wherever you’re supposed to follow them to since there are no more light sources available.

For a moment, you wonder where exactly Gaster is leading you to… But only for a moment, because soon enough, the sound of an argument catches your attention a couple meters ahead, prompting you to speed up and follow the sparks in hopes of getting away from any kind of tussle occurring in a flipping _alley_. Unfortunately, the sparks seem to be leading you towards the argument.

You’re close enough to catch a few words.

“...now. I’m not letting this accident ruin my chances at my dream school- I’m graduating at the end of the year! If they hear I was drinking and driving, I’m off the list! You _really_ want to argue with me? I’m on the wrestling team, remember? And what are you? Just a guy that plays chess! You wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight with me.”

The sound of a scoff catches your attention, just the sparks lead you around a corner, turning to a bright white color.

“This is crazy talk- we _have_ to call the…”

The sparks die out.

With nothing else to distract you, you swallow thickly and turn to face the obviously male voices you’ve been lead to. Everything is okay… Gaster would _not_ lead you anywhere dangerous… You’re not in serious danger. You’ve got a guardian angel watching over your shoulder, right?

The scene is even more surprising than you expect it to be, and you blink a little in surprise at the truck at the bottom of the steep hill to your left, the back of the bed resting just a bit over a bubbling and upwash of water from the sidewalk. Water is spilling everywhere, but the three figures at the bottom aren’t standing next to that crash site. Instead, they’re standing a good ten meters away along the right of the accident, huddled around something on the ground and staring up at you as you face them properly to try and figure out if maybe they need help.

It’s likely they’ve already called the police, but… What in the world are they huddled around in such a tight little group like that?

Like magic, one of the figures stands up abruptly, facing your location atop the steep hill and letting out a drunken sob of remorse. You frown in slight confusion, bringing a hand to your phone in case you need to speed dial Undyne.

...You’re not sure why Undyne is your first conscious choice, but you assume it has to do with her murdery personality, and leave it a that.

“I...It was an _accident!_ W-w-we didn’t even hit her with the car, I _swear!”_ The boy blurts out, eyes bloodshot as tears and snot runs down his face midst his sobbing.

When another of the three figures spins around and punches the crying teenager in the face, you jump a little. Are they not friends with each other…? What is the crying one talking about? And accident and a girl being hit, but not by the car they were driving…?

You start walking down the steep hill carefully, making sure not to divert your gaze from the three boys. You don’t want a repeat of what happened _last_ time you took your eyes off of a stranger in an alley, and do well not to get too close to the guy that punched his friend since he looks like a bomb waiting to go off.

 _They’ve been drinking…_ You mentally note as the strong smell of alcohol that wafts off of the trio reaches you, enough to warrant you even more caution while you approach the calmer of the three, only stopping about at a distance of five feet away. You don’t feel safe getting any closer, that’s for sure.

  
The boy before you is wearing a pleading expression of worry as you meet his gaze. He looks like he wants you to leave, if his eyes and head flicking slightly towards the alley to his left is any indication.

You ignore his concern and give in to your morbid curiosity, looking around his taller figure and-

Your teeth clench and you repress the urge to gag, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates.

There, on the ground behind this quiet boy that is begging you to leave, is a figure damn near _unrecognizable_. Their face has capsized within itself and blood fills the orifice from the inside, still bubbling up despite the fact that the person is clearly... _Dead_.

You’ve never seen a dead body before. You almost saw one back when Undyne fished you out of that pond near the highway, but she stopped you from looking at it back then… None of these boys were going to stop you, and although one was begging (is _still_ begging) you to leave with his eyes, you looked anyways.

The hair around the smashed face of the figure on the ground spills around them like a halo, soaked with thick blood from the literal rip at the side of the body’s neck that is still gushing blood from what is likely torn artery.

Honestly, you wouldn’t have been able to identify who this person was by the body alone…

...If it wasn’t for the pink and black polka dotted tank top and black fluffy pajama pants you’d lent them before heading out on your date with Papyrus.

 _“...H-Halley…?”_ You murmur in a hollow tone of disbelief, unaware of the voices around you as you stare down at the body wide eyed from around the quiet teenager, who looks pained by the expression of horror on your face. Any conversation or statement is background noise as you stare down at the corpse.

 _My god..._ You think, pressing a hand against your mouth to resist losing the midnight snack you had at the arcade with Papyrus of a plate of shared spaghetti. At first, you're horrified... And you feel guilty that you're not overcome with grief at the sight of her body, considering you sadly just don't know her enough to warrant losing tears over her untimely passing. It would have been nice to give her a chance...

But it's clearly too late for that now.

Taking a glance up past her body, you immediately find the cause of this accident resting a couple of yards away against the wall of one of the many surrounding buildings, a large portion of the stone wall having been largely cracked from what appears to be a freaking fire hydrant that is now resting on the ground.

“We… Ran out of battery and had to push the car up the hill. We were too drunk to actually think about the steepness, and the truck ended up hitting the hydrant and... We didn’t realize it hit someone until…” The quiet boy speaks up after a few seconds like he’s having trouble relaying the events of the accident to you, biting his lip and staring at you as if to gauge a your reaction to this news.

 _This isn’t recent,_ you realize by the meaning of the boy’s words. _How long has Halley dead body been laying here since the initial accident?_

“W-we’re sorry…” The crying teen sitting on the ground in an awkward fetal position says as he continues sniffling and hiccuping to himself, avoiding your gaze altogether as he holds the area where he got punched with one hand.

…

“This is just great…” A voice mutters sarcastically, causing the hairs at the back of your neck to stand on end. That voice is coming from directly behind you!

Your eyes widen in surprise, but rather than allow anything to happen, your reflexes kick into action and you lift your back foot to thrust it into the gut of the pimpled teenager behind you quickly. You spin around rapidly, hearing him grunt loudly as you spring a good couple of feet away and reach for your phone in your pocket to message somebody for help.

Like _hell_ you’re going to let that horrible incident happen all over again!

“That’s _enough!_ What the hell are you doing?!” The quiet boy from before snaps, grabbing the pimpled teen from behind and restraining him by his arms. They struggle for a bit, the pimpled teen easily moving the quieter guy despite his attempts to contain his pimpled companion’s intent. “STOP IT!”

 _“I told you to get out of my way!”_ The guy practically snarls, thrashing about in the other guy’s hold until he has room to knee his quiet friend’s gut, making him cry out in pain before he looks up and momentarily makes eye contact with you. For a second, you stand there unsure of what exactly to do… But then you realize the quiet boy, midst trying to retaliate against his aggressive friend, is nudging his head towards one of the alleys.

… He’s distracting the guy to let you get away!

Obviously you can’t stay there and call while a psychopath like that pimpled teenager is running around attempting to (likely) beat you to silence, so you take this opportunity to nod at the guy gratefully just before a punch is delivered to his face, turning to run down the alley past Halley’s crumpled body while the quiet boy hits the ground near her . He appears knocked out by his companion’s punch.

As your eyes find Halley’s body again, your heart clenches with regret. It was a one-in-a-million freak accident, emphasis on _accident_ , but still…

You feel bad that you went on that date with Papyrus instead of staying with her when she was clearly dealing with some issues.

...This _was_ an accident, right?

... Why did Gaster have the sense to lead you to Halley’s body though? Did they know you knew her? Or is there more than meets the eye regarding this accident?

As of now, you have no idea what to think. You don’t know how to deal with this other than calling the police. You can barely even think to do _that_ when that pimpled teenager is going on a rampage in an attempt to march over to you and quiet you down. He may be younger than you, but he is larger than you in all other aspects. You likely wouldn't stand a chance without any sort of weapon, and there isn't much laying around the alley to defend yourself with- save for some plastic bags here and there.

A plastic bag is  _not_ going to save your life.

“HEY!” The guy shouts from somewhere behind you furiously. The further you get, however, the more his footsteps fade. He’s not running after you…? Sure, that’s a relief, but you’re not about to stop or slow down. Better to keep going, especially with a drunk person like him being part of the equation. Drunkenness makes people unpredictable, and that is the _worst_ kind of person to be stuck with in a situation like this.

Of course, fate just _has_ to prove you right when blinding lights flare to life behind you a good kilometer away from your running, making you shoot a quick glance over your shoulder to see what it is. As soon as you register what _exactly_ the two light sources are behind you, you let out a curse as a cold chill of fear climbs up your already nervously twitching spine.

It’s that truck the boys own, which is surprisingly not destroyed despite being dented at the very back where the bed is. This crazy, pimpled bastard is bringing his _truck_ to deal with you… You hardly need to think too much on how he plans to deal with you using his truck, but the thought of it is enough to make you power up to an all new getaway speed.

You charge past one more alley, until you reach this extremely thin squeeze of a path leading to the another alley, which you estimate will at least give you a bit of time to keep increasing the distance before the asshole finally comes around.

As you run, you yank out your phone. The time reads 3:12 AM…

 _What does_ that _matter right now?! Call the police!_ You scream at yourself, dialing 911 and waiting for the line to connect. _There is a dead body and a crazy dude trying to mow you down with their truck! Forget about what flipping time it is!_

**Rrrrring… Rrrrring...Rrrrr-**

**KCKHKHHHHRRRRKKKCHHH!**

You go pale at the sound of the line cutting off abruptly. That’s not Gaster’s doing, is it? Is this a trap? Were you stupid to trust them…? _Ugh, keep calling! Don’t give up so soon!_

With a stab of your finger, you redial the three digit number, reminding yourself that if the going gets tough… You can still navigate through these alleys better than that drunk psychopath can.

_….Why isn’t it connecting faster?!_

You curse under your breath when you hit a dead end, turning around to run out as fast as you can. Much to your shock, you are stopped by a blinding light at the other end of the alley, making your eyes squint as you flinch in shock. What the…? Where’s that light coming from?

As your eyes struggle to adjust against the blinding beams that are attacking your eyes… You come to the realization of what you’re staring at.

 _It’s that pimpled teen and his truck._ How did he drive around the buildings so fast?

The car revs up in warning and lurches forward two feet towards your stricken form, causing you to reel backwards towards the newspaper and trash ridden dead end. You nearly trip on a mangled plastic bag as you retreat back against the side of a large dumpster, pressing against it in hopes of feeling around for another escape route.

You don’t find anything.

 _Shit…! Why did I leave the house like an idiot again?_ You scold yourself with regret, still feeling around the dumpster with one hand as you cover the light in your eyes with your other arm. _Is this guy really going to hit me with his car? ...Maybe he’s not serious. Maybe he’s just desperate to get a threat across. He didn’t hit Halley, that was a freak accident, so maybe…_

The lights of the truck suddenly switch off out of nowhere, along with the engine and all visible functions of the vehicle. Startled and jumpy beyond belief, you straighten up in a fighting stance. Is he getting out of the car? If this guy is dumb enough to fight you drunk… Well, he’s larger than you, but if you find something, maybe you’ll have enough of a chance to knock him out and run away.

You can even snatch the truck to make sure you have the getaway advantage.

It’s while you’re mentally plotting your escape that you notice the silence of your phone in the hand you’re using to block the light. You press your finger to the reader on the back, but instead turning on, the device stays dead in your hand.

Reasonably, one would deduce the battery died- like a fucking cliche or something. However… You charged your phone to one hundred percent while you were at that arcade with Papyrus. It couldn’t have died in an hour already, you were barely even using it!

“DAMN IT!” A furious voice snaps, before the truck door is thrown open and out jumps that pimpled teen, hell bent on either beating you up or killing you altogether. It doesn’t take much thought to know why he’s become so aggressive, the part of the conversation you caught as you were entering the scene of the accident told you everything you needed to know.

If you call the cops, the blame goes entirely on this kid- for driving drunk. He’ll never get into that college of his if they mark him up for this at the police station…

Do you care though? _Hell no!_ If somebody is _dead_ , you need to own up and deal with it properly. Not ignore it altogether and pretend it never happened! People have _families_ , and they need the closure!

“I’m not going to hurt you, just let me-” He begins with a gruff growl of vexation, but rather than listen, you find something pertaining to an item you can throw from the dumpster. With a fluid swing of your arm, you throw it straight at the teen that is approaching you. You feel your chest jerk with anxious unease as it makes contact directly with his pimpled face, flinching as it makes contact.

He turns away to cradle this new injury on his face with a growl of absolute rage, but when he glances back up, you already have another item prepped at hand- this time a piece of a broken laptop.

Your eyes are wide and your rib cage is rising and falling quickly. You’re afraid of hurting him too much, but you also don’t want to get hurt _yourself_. It’s an odd feeling to have, and it clashes inside of you with your usually benevolent nature as you try to figure out your next course of action, until you notice your phone begin to light up with several glitching bars of gold and blue.

_Wait… Isn’t that…?_

“Will you _calm down,_ you dumb _bit-?!”_ He starts to shout, moving to step forward-

**P-P-P-Ping!**

Your breath catches in your throat at the messages appearing one by one on your smartphone, making your eyes widen a little. There are four new messages, with symbols creating letter via clever formatting. You don’t dare let your gaze linger on the screen of your phone, however, looking back and forth from the device to the silenced teenager before you. He looks startled by your phone going off, and his face is all pale at the realization that you’ve likely already called the police.

You haven’t though.

**H-I-D-E.**

Your stomach lurches and your brain goes full panic mode as you look for somewhere to hide- completely disregarding the teenager that slouches with resignation as you risk turning away from. Unable to find anywhere else, you throw yourself at the dumpster behind you and cringe in disgust as you slide in past the dirty plastic bags and trash, slapping a wet paper away and leaving the boy standing there behind you.

“Hide,” you barely manage to throw over your shoulder at him in a brisk huff, quickly ducking under a garbage bag and curling up as you tuck your nose under your shirt to protect your nose from the stink around you.

“...What? Why?” The teen asks, but you don’t reply out of fear. You can only hope the guy decides to take your advice to heart.

Look, he tried to run you over, beat you up- God _knows_ he’s awful. _You_ know he’s awful! Drunk or not, he’s not the best human out there. Does that mean you want him to get hurt though? No, you _don’t_. Everybody deserves a chance to better themselves, regardless of their past wrongdoings.

“Hey, what do you mean by hide?” The teenager asks in confusion, but you ignore him with a wince of regret. You’re too scared to try and say anything more to the kid. Gaster told you to hide for a reason, right? Which means something is out there that will do you harm if you are found out by it… _Whatever_ it is.

You don’t want to find out what it is.

Your phone lights up, and you bring it to your line of sight, making an expression of disgust as your leg brushes something that feels akin to slime. If you weren’t so scared of whatever Gaster was warning you of, you definitely would not have dove under the trash of this dumpster like you had.

The time on your phone blinks 3:20 AM, and all of a sudden everything makes sense.

Because of your panic, you hadn’t noticed until now, but… This alley is very _familiar_. In fact, it’s a little _too_ familiar. As in you recently walked around this place just _yesterday_.

_This is that freaking alley from my dream! The one Gaster showed me! Which means that…_

**REMEMBER THE TIME AND THE PLACE.**

The sound of something much like a thick splatter of goo dropping from somewhere catches your attention as you stay crouched under the garbage of the dumpster. Your nerves coil up, and you resist the urge to flinch.

Gaster told you to remember the time and the place, not that you had to go to the freaking place at the mentioned time. You have enough to deal with regarding Halley’s sudden death and the accident caused by some drunk teenagers, why is fate piling everything on you like this?

You slow your breathing down and keep the volume of it in check, trying not to let the air hit the plastic of the bags around and cause unnecessary noise. What is it? Why does it sound so… _Wet?_

“Whoa… Hey, there’s a monster here,” you hear the voice of the pimpled guy speaking up, causing you to curl up more in hopes that he doesn’t give away your presence anymore than he already is. The teenager sounds closer than before, as if standing right next to the outside of the dumpster. “Um… Looks kinda like a slime monster with, er… Lots of eyes…”

You raise an eyebrow in confusion, but find comfort in knowing _something_ of what’s out there. A slime monster with a lot of eyes? You’ve seen a single slime monster at the college with only one eye, but never a monster with many eyes. Of course, it’s not like you expect to ever see _every_ subdivision of monster, considering they’re a diverse species to begin with… But this specific monster still sounds a bit strange.

Like for instance, if it was a normal monster encounter… Wouldn’t the monster have already said something by now?

…

…?

You wait for someone to speak, either the pimpled teenager you left outside of the dumpster or that aforementioned monster, but all that penetrates the humid night is more silence.

...Maybe they left or something. That’s probably it. Or maybe the monster went a different way and that crazy kid went chasing after them to make sure they didn’t run into the accident a few alleys back?

Well, regardless-

**BANG!**

You almost scream out at the sudden ear shattering metal sound of something hitting the dumpster _hard_ , making your eyes widen. You jump a little, but any sound your startled jerk makes is well hidden behind the bang against the dumpster. What the hell was that?!

…

…

Should you peek out of the dumpster and see what the commotion is…?

You shift to start easing yourself out, until something in the back of your mind suddenly jumps out at you. The moment you recall this little detail, you halt your attempts to get up.

_**Don’t look at it.** _

Don’t look at _this_ thing? The one currently outside? What if it _is_ just a friendly monster? Or worse, what if you’re in more danger staying huddled in that dumpster as you are now?

…

You inhale to let out a quiet sigh, and immediately regret it as the foul stench of garbage fills your nose enough to cause you to gag. Whatever, you’re getting out of here. Screw hiding, you don’t want to be here anymore and you need to get somewhere where you can call the police- maybe not only for the issue with Halley being… But maybe also to deal with whatever _this_ is.

...Or actually… Undyne might be the better person to call regarding this.

You jump out from the dumpster, prepared to take off past whatever you’re about to see that you aren’t supposed to see…

But there’s nobody there?

You frown in confusion, searching for signs of the teenager from before- or even the freaking _goo_ that you distinctly heard splattering around here… But there’s nothing out here except you, with nasty wet spots over your body and a stench of a thousand rotting dairy products.

_Where did…?_

**CHHH-KK!**

The sound of your phone’s speaker roaring to life makes you jump again, and you growl a little at your wound up nerves as your screen flickers to the interface for phone calls.

 _“Nine-one-one Ebott Creek, what is your emergenc-”_ You hang up your suddenly functioning smartphone with a panicked stab of the red button at the bottom of the screen, exhaling in relief as you spare the dead end another cautious once over.

Call the police… That was what you wanted to do, right? There’s a dead body and three boys drinking too much alcohol indirectly murdered her by their idiocy in trying to push a car up a far too steep hill together.

However… How do you explain how you _got_ there to find the body? How do you explain why you ducked into a dumpster to hide? How do you explain why you didn't call right away? What if those other two boy have taken the opportunity to run off? Even the nice one?

You dial a separate number instead, cringing in disgust as you crawl out of the dumpster nervously, praying the call to go through and-

Your feet land in a pile of something like dirt, making you frown in confusion as a cloud of fine dust rises up, making you jump back against the dumpster in a coughing fit until you notice a random pile of creamy white fine dirt mixed with streaks of black granulated dust in the spot where you’d originally landed after jumping from the dumpster. The dirt is scattered from you jumping on it, and the prints of your shoes leave a design behind as you try to figure out what the dirt pile is and how the heck it got there when it definitely wasn't there before.

_What? What is…?_

You bend down slowly when something catches your eye from under the large dust pile, and you reach out to pull it from out under the dirt.

As soon as it pulled out a little from under the pile of dirt, you realize what it is and abruptly drop it like it’s burnt you.

_It’s the fucking teenager’s jacket._

The moisture within your mouth becomes dry as starch.

 _“GIRLIE! I’m at your place, but the door's broken and what’s-her-face told Sans you took a walk?! Punk, it’s three in the morning, are you crazy?!”_ Undyne’s voice barks loudly through the speaker as you gape at the dust pile beneath you. Anything you were originally going to tell her dies in the back of your throat, and you settle with just one sentence.

“...I’m at the alley, Undyne. Something happened and I think you should probably get over here,” you hear yourself say, staring down at the dust pile.

...A dust pile you have no doubts is _clearly_ from what used to be a _human_ you were defending yourself from no less than five minutes before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooiii~! :D Okay, I managed to finish embellishing everything to your utmost enjoyment, dear readers!
> 
> Sorry for the hold up today! My dad is moving and he ended up asking if I could help him, so the last three days have been nothing but heavy lifting and furniture Tetris. :3
> 
> I'm dead tired~ But I love you guys all the same~
> 
> ...SOOO. You think Libby found Sans in the house? ;D or do you think he left?
> 
> What about this Gaster guy? Good guy? Or bad guy?
> 
> Linksies~:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)


	28. 00:00

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is worried about the life choices you make at night, and King Asgore is concerned over your relationship with Sans. Undyne is dispatched to watch you... But...?

 

 

 

Chapter 28: 00:00

 

 

Sans lands easily on both feet in the middle of a warm home, rolling his shoulder blades back lazily with a soft sigh of relief. Following you around with Undyne and Frisk proved to be energy draining as the date neared it's end, but from Sans could tell, it was a complete success for the most part. Although... Sans can't remember the last time he physically exerted himself _this_ much.

Papyrus would be so proud if he knew.

...Other than the few people at the arcade that would try to pull pranks on the two of you, though with some freshly delivered warnings from Undyne, and Sans (read: threats), no one managed to pull a single thing on either you or Papyrus.

Surprisingly enough, and Sans _hates_ that Undyne pointed this out, Sans had gotten a bit aggressive when a little boy made a bold attempt at trying to lift your dress skirt with a grabbing toy while you weren't looking. Sans wasn't really doing it for your sake though, mostly it was the fact that the kid was holding his way-too-expensive-for-a-ten-year-old iPhone to try and snap a photo. Sans is only starting to warm up to you now, and you still look at him (oh, he noticed) like he's the anti-christ or something, but no way was he just going to stand around and watch your privacy get violated!

...Nevermind that he completely violated your privacy _himself_ , what with reading your diary, but still.

_"You **ballsy** little **fu** -"_ Sans had started to growl to the kid after snatching his wrist with the phone, sockets empty and dead as black holes, before Undyne ended up jumping in to scold the kid herself... By breaking his toy and iPhone with little to no remorse whatsoever. Frisk had to "detain" Sans in the meantime and calm him down before he did anything he would regret. Thing is, Sans _only_ regret had to be NOT doing anything to the nasty little brat.

Whatever though. It's over and done with- and Sans refuses to speak to Undyne for the next few days. At least until his irritation with her resides, in regards to the fact that she continuously made jokes and innuendos about what kind of couple you and him would make. Sans may not dislike you much anymore, but _like hell_ it means he suddenly wants to start _dating you._  

Sans' left hand automatically goes up to finger the ring currently hanging around his neck by it's silver necklace chain, which he put on only to make sure it didn't fall out of his pocket before he went off to find the owner.

He probably should have waited around that alley the moment he found that ring, but... Making sure Papyrus' date went smoothly for the rest of the night was a higher priority for him. Sans is guilty about the fact that the ring may never return to it's respectful owner, but hey, he'll take special care of it for the owner in their stead. In fact, maybe he'll eventually walk by someone and they'll recognize it and tell him it's theirs... That or they'll call Sans a theif and try to beat him up for "stealing" it. Hey, he's a monster, he has to be prepared for _any_ outcome when _humans_ are involved. They're unpredictable and occasionally violent depending on the individual.

Sans opens his eyes... And flushes a vibrant shade of blue when he realizes he teleported into the wrong house- one filled with the crunching of kibble and "nom nom nom"ing of one ever-hungry feline. 

"...Shit... Wrong place," he laughs nervously, hoping you aren't home at the moment to have heard him appear there uninvited like a creeper.

Sans waits and scans the two bedroom doors down the hall for a minute or two.

... 

Nothing. Thankfully, you're not home ye-

** P-P-P-P-P-Ping!**

Sans raises a browbone of both interest and confusion, turning to stare at the front door behind him instead of your bedroom. That was _definitely_ a phone he just heard going off... Is someone outside your house right now? Or maybe...

The skeleton in your living room walks over to the door to peer out of the peep hole at the upper part of the entrance, having to get on his tip toes to see through the damn thing. You must have trouble with this thing too, since you're about the same height as Sans, but Libby? This was practically _made_ for her amazonian height.

For a moment, Sans catches someone standing on the other side of the door, but loses his balance a bit and has to steady himself before glancing up through the peep hole again. 

...It''s you. You're looking down at your phone with this odd expression on your face... It looks like you're reading something interesting, if the spark of anger that soon turns to an expression of curiosity is anything to go by. Whatever it is that you're reading to cause you to make those faces, Sans can only wonder. Honestly, Sans is just tired and wants to go home and take a-

_Wait a minute,_ Sans thinks to himself suddenly, frowning at you and your attire once he has snapped himself out of staring at only your face. Why are you outside? What are you doing wearing fitness attire? Are you planning on taking a jog at _this_ hour? What about your house guest Sans saw you hustle into your room before the date?

...

...WAIT. _What about that house guest?!_

Sans whirls around in panic, glancing towards the bedroom doors and then the bathroom and kitchen in search for you house guest, who'd have likely heard and seen Sans at that point as he spins around in search for the third human temporarily residing there. No matter which direction he turns, however, your house guest appears to have left. Sans overheard a bit of the conversation- you were gonna let this girl stay with you for a while until she could fix her issues and problems, right? So then... Why isn't she here anymore? She only arrived a few hours ago, surely she'd want to rest before getting started with dealing with her problems, right?

_That girl isn't here. Is that why (Name)'s out there? Is she looking for her?_

Sans walks back over to the door and closes one eye socket to peer out of the peep hole, feeling his focused eye light shrink when he sees you looking down past the drive way. Something has gotten your attention, and the way you're standing with your muscles tensed gives Sans the immediate impression that whatever you're staring at may be something of concern. Rather than stand there and wait for an answer to happen upon him with twiddling thumbs, Sans shifts back on his heels and rounds into the living room, kneeling against the backrest of a couch propped against a wall with a window. He pushes a litte of the curtain open- enough to see through without you noticing him if you happen to turn.

As soon as he finds what you're staring at, his eye lights constrict into small dots once more. 

The street lights are blinking on and off, like freaking _christmas lights._  Like they're practically trying to indicate a direction for someone to head towards. Is there another monster with electric magic playing a prank on you? The only other monster Sans is aware of having electric based magic is Alphys- which she uses to power her inventions and science projects, but she hardly seems like the kind of monster to pull something like that- let alone find the  _time_ to even do so.

_...Is that magic really aimed towards her?_  Sans wonders, watching intently at your mildly flustered reaction before you take a step forward... And bump into someone.

Sans' eye lights vanish completely at the sight of Libby, and his mood drops like it's been doing every time her and her _lies_ pop up in his thoughts, Sans ducks a bit lower behind the couch as vexation fills his soul. The skeleton narrows his eye lights as he peers at you and Libby, the both of you quickly becoming visibly tensed once you register one another. Looks like the two of you haven't resolved your quarrel yet... But the argument that caused this separation was about monsters, right? From the way you were behaving with Papyrus though, maybe the two of you are finally going to make up.

Of course, Sans doesn't like that idea one bit, but you're her best friend for a reason, right? It's likely that she doesn't _lie_ to gain your approval or anything. Not like she did with _him._

It's while Sans is staring at you and Libby that he catches the lights behind Libby suddenly stop blinking out of the corner of his eye sockets- as if lights were realizing Libby's presence and unwilling to let her to notice it's intentions.

_Okay, so that's definitely_ not _natural... Something is manipulating those lights to behave that way,_  Sans observes intently, watching as Libby says something that makes you spare a rather lazy glance at the broken door behind you- and promptly look back at her with a shake of your head. Hm. Libby must have been asking the issue with why the door is broken... She knows you let that other girl into your home, right? Or did you allow her in without letting Libby know?

Libby reaches for your hand with a strange expression on her face... And you flinch back abruptly, yanking your hand out of her grabbing range with a little more urgency than expected. Libby's expression contorts to a blatant look of bewilderment by your sudden change in behavior, but before she can say anything, you start to speak again. Sans narrows his eye lights on you, not out of suspicion, but confusion. Why are you suddenly so jumpy around Libby? It's not like she's dangerous or anything, she's just a manipulative little b-

"Stay safe, (Name)," Libby's voice reaches Sans' hearing threshold as he watches her move to make her way to the front entrance.

Sans has two options: The first being that he can wait there for Libby to enter and confront her regarding the bold lie about you wanting to dust a monster. The second option- follow you around since you're likely going to be going out for some kind of "magic" scavenger hunt of something in the dead of the night. It's around two thirty AM, so on that note, why the hell are you willing to follow those lights at this time? It's not like those lights are telling you _why_ you should follow them- they're just blinking to tell you _where_ to go. 

_Damn it, are these the kind of decisions she makes on a daily basis? She's going to get herself killed... Or worse,_ Sans thinks with a huff as he teleports around to the outerside of the house- his decision already made even before he considered either option. _I can't just leave her wandering around at this hour so irresponsibly. Well, technically I can, but... That would just make me more of an asshole than I've already screwed myself up to be._

A voice in the back of his head tells him that he's not your keeper and shouldn't concern himself with your choices, no matter how dumb they may seem, but Sans quickly shakes the voice out of his head. Not only is he curious to see _where_ those lights lead you, but he also wants to see if you're truly the intended target for the lights. Are these lights danger leading you astray by giving you a false sense of security? It's too suspicious to be benevolent- why doesn't the monster creating this little "light show" just show themself to you?

...Now that he thinks more about this, didn't you mention in one of your diary entries that you were being visited by a strange person in your dream? A monster that looked like him and Papyrus? Does that person have something to do with this? 

Sans teleports towards your location down the street, hiding behind a public mail outbox and peering around the side of it to see you taking to an brisk walk down the driveway. Unexpectedly, out of nowhere, you pause and lift your shirt up, running a hand over the smooth bare skin of your waist. Sans eyes your hand as you twist your hips to get a better look at a certain spot along the side of your back.

_What is she doing...?_ Sans wonders, moments before his eye sockets suddenly widen and something odd clicks in his skull. Something is missing... Your old wound that you were treated for at the hospital is _gone._  Albeit, Sans never saw the actual wound itself, but caught a few glimps of your bandage during the night he first met you. You were wearing that small pink polka dotted tank top to sleep in- and when you moved, Sans had caught a couple glimpses of that gauze pad taped to your lower backside. That was literally just two nights ago... That can't be a normal healing time period for a human like you. Maybe Undyne helped you with a few monster candies? No, even with that, it would still take a bit longer for mortal damage like a stab to recover under magic effects. Undyne would have had to use magic to heal damage that fast... And considering Undyne's intensity hasn't decreased one bit since he last saw the bandage of your wound, Sans can't help but think your rapid healing means something _else._

_..._ Something that might have to do with _magic._

Satisfied with the glance- well, not really since you're frowning and look confused- you lower your shirt back down over your belly and break into a casual jog. Sans teleports repeatedly after you as you jog, making sure to stay out of sight while keeping you within watching range.

_...I really need to stop doing this,_  Sans thinks to himself in annoyance, but quickly reminds himself that at least he has a _real_ and reasonable excuse this time. He's making sure you stay safe on this stupid excursion of yours and-

**Beep! Beep! Beeep!**

Sans lets out a soft groan and yanks his phone out, pinning it against the side of his skull. He's going to have to talk low if he doesn't want you hearing that he's lurking about. Talk about bad luck though, getting a call while following you? At _this_ hour? That's a horrid coincidence just _waiting_ to expose him stalking you.

"Hm?" Sans grunts into the mic of his phone, watching as you slow down a bit to glance down at your own phone in your hand curiously.

_"SANS! Where are you?!"_  Papyrus voice practically bellows from Sans' phone speaker, making him blurt out a curse of astonishment at both the volume as his brother's voice rings in his skull and the silence of the outdoors. After lowering the volume, Sans lets out a stiff exhale and teleports straight out of his current location to find somewhere else to spy. He appears behind another building a smidgen further from you than before, taking a peek to see if you've heard the thunderous sound of Papyrus shouting from his phone.

...From the way you're still jogging after the flickering street lights, it appears you didn't hear it at all. It's while Sans is taking a breather of relief that he realizes there is an incessant buzzing noise still coming from his phone at a much lower volume, reminding him of his brother on the line as he brings his phone back up to his skull.

"Uh, sorry, bro- I'm right here. Something up?" Sans asks, doing his best to retain a reasonably lazy and aloof tone as he teleports closer to your location. Doesn't look like you're planning on stopping anytime soon. How far are you planning to run though? Sans is already tired from following you around on your date with Undyne and Frisk- and getting teased for being unable to keep up with them. More teleportation and stalking really pushing his threshold at this point... 

_"'Something up'...? 'SOMETHING UP'?!"_ Sans can't help but grin a little at the sound of his brothers rising agitation. Something about his cool brother always eases his nerves, and despite his exhaustion and current activities or concerns, this moment is no exception. Almost immediately, Sans relaxes against the building beside him, taking a peek to find that you've stopped to regard the lights above you- which have suddenly stopped illuminating your way. _"Brother, I have had the most INCREDIBLE_ _night since that night Undyne taught me how to cook spaghetti, and you are ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE FOR ME TO RECOUNT EVERYTHING!"_

Sans turns away from you to glance sheepishly at the other side of the building across from him, shoving one hand in his pocket and relaxing since you've stopped yourself. Maybe the monster leading you away is just pranking you and this is where the joke ends? Sans'll stick around to be sure- maybe even follow you back to your house so he knows you get home safely. He's done it before- though that was after locking you out of Undyne's place. Sure, he was a total ass, but Sans is glad he had enough nerve to follow you around that night and make sure you didn't run into any trouble.

...You know, _before_ following you back to Undyne's place, teleporting back inside, and proceeding to continue to be a complete jerk...

"Sorry, bro, I'm just out at Grillby's and stuff," Sans lies easily.

... 

Sans frowns at the extended silence, even pulling the phone away to see if the call has glitched out or something. When all seems fine, he brings the phone back to his skull, ready to speak and make sure his brother is still on the line.

_"Brother... I don't see you at Grillby's,"_  Papyrus slowly states, causing Sans eye lights to vanish as a shadow of anxiety crawls over his face. No way.

Did Papyrus really enter past what he would call, "The Greasy Gateway" of Grillby's to _find_ him? And he's in there right now?!

_Fuck._

"Er, not the new Grillby's. I'm at the, uh, old one. Looking for old ketchup bottles. Because I'm gonna start a ketchup bottle collection," Sans adds, visibly sweating as he shifts his eye lights in all directions in search for the answer to the implied query of where he _truly_ is. All Sans can really do is hope his brother believes him, which he assumes will not be a too much of a problem since-

_"UGH! Of course you are... Is your sock hoarding truly not sufficient_ enough _to plague my life?!"_ Sans grins when Papyrus pauses to let out an exasperated sigh, but stiffens up at his next words. It's a request.  _"Please come home now, It's too late into the night to be lurking about through the underground- I highly doubt your ketchup bottles are going to scamper off if you patiently await for the morning hour. Besides, I have a date story I am absolutely_ itching _to recount, and Peek-a-Boo With Fluffy Bunny isn't going to read itself!"_

Sans isn't even given the time to try and barter for a little more time before his brother bids him a quick farewell and hangs up. For someone like Papyrus, he sure knows how to get what he wants... Hanging up quickly before Sans can say anything? He totally did that on purpose. 

The short skeleton pushes off of the building he's leaning against and peeks around the corner, causing his eye lights to constrict into two tiny dots. You're not where he last saw you... Where'd you go? Sans runs a hand over the back of his skull, unsure of what to do. Should he go look for you? Or worry his brother? Papyrus is fully aware that Sans has teleportation magic, Sans has no excuse to not get there the moment his brother asks him to. And Sans is a good brother. He's never ignored his brother's request for him to return home, and he's not about to start now. 

_Damn it, and Papyrus wants me back right now..._

...Sans pulls up a new thread on his phone, quickly tapping the tips of his phalanges across the screen. Thank goodness Alphys made it so that smart phones could recognize the magical essence of monster contact... With furry monsters, slime monsters, and monsters with claws or bone, the humans' smartphone heat touch sensors are totally useless to them.

_**'** Miss Human is lurking a few blocks down her street taking a walk, according to Libby. Just thought I'd let you know since Papyrus wants me home and I can't watch to make sure she doesn't get herself into any stupid situations.' _

Sans hits send, hoping that Undyne gets the message on time. He feels a little guilty saying Libby told him that, when of course he hasn't spoken to her in a while, but really- Sans doesn't want her chewing him out for following you a little more. In his personal opinion, Sans thinks that she ought to be _grateful_ Sans followed her this time... But he's not going to risk it by fessing up.

Just before Sans is preparing to leave, his phone notifies him of a new message with a loud **Beep! Beep!**  

That was a pretty fast response... Is that a good sign? 

The skeleton monster pulls his phone out again to read this new message, flushing awkwardly when he sees what's spelled out across the screen of his phone. He's trying to be serious, but _no..._  Undyne just **can't**  let it go, can she?

_'So you want me to check on her? Sure, punk. Anything for Papyrus' future sister-in-law, NGAH HAH HAH!!!'_ Undyne had texted back, much to Sans' immense displeasure. At that point, he fully regrets not just opening up to Paps and telling him he's straight up following you.

Sans sighs and puts his phone away, refusing to reply to Undyne's stupid message. He's not willing to add to the flames that are Undyne's new so-called "ship". Just thinking about you and him actually getting togeth... On second thought, he's not risking a peek at how things aboard _that_ ship would look like, even on a metaphorical scale. Sans still doesn't like humans enough to consider even dating one. Much less that human being _you._

With one last glance down the alley you'd walked down, Sans finally convinces himself to turn away and teleport back home. You'll be fine, especially with Undyne on your tail now.

**...**

**POP!**

* * *

Undyne pats Frisks head and dumps her mug of hot tea down her throat as she stands. After she slams the object back on the table, she wipes her mouth with a swipe of her arm.

"I gotta hit the road. Sansy's _girlfriend_ decided to take a walk and he's worried about her getting herself into trouble since he can't stick around to watch her," Undyne blurts out, causing Frisk to snort and giggle to themself in amusement. As for the monster sitting across the table from her...

"Sans is courting someone? That's wonderful to hear, who's the lucky monster?" Asgore inquires, smiling pleasantly as he takes another sip of his golden flower tea and watches Undyne grab her leather jacket from behind her chair. With a fluid swing of the garment, Undyne starts to push her arms through the sleeves and grins savagely at King Asgore.

"Nah, he's not courting (Name) yet." Undyne watches with a wicked grin as Asgore yanks his mug from his lips, coughing profusely and grabbing a nearby napkin to clean his beard as he catches his breath. Did he hear her right? Or had he imagined that?

"I'm sorry, _who_  is Sans- er... _Not_ courting yet?" Asgore repeats, feelling a strange twitch of a strange emotion inside of him as he eyes Undyne's grin. He's not sure why he feels the way he feels, but hearing that Sans is interested in you? Somehow, it unsettles him for an odd reason. Perhaps it has to do with the most _obvious_ reason? 

"You heard me, Fluffybuns! Sans has got a crush on my future BESTIE! NGAH HAH HAH! It's _totally_ hilarious, Frisk and I noticed that he was looking at (Name) in a funny way, so we started teasing him about it, right? Dude lost his cool and turned into a flushed blue mess _every time!"_  Undyne snorts, howling with laughter when Frisk starts nodding and waves a hand in Asgore's line of sight to get his attention.

**"It's true! And when she started dancing with Papyrus, he was totally on another planet! He couldn't take his eyes off of her!"** Frisk insists with energetic nods of agreement, as they bounce on their seat with growing excitement.

On the other hand, Asgore still looks less than pleased by this sudden development. In fact, Asgore is barely even sure _why_ it bothers him so much.

"Yes, that _sounds_ like you two may be correct in that Sans finds (Name) attractive, but..." Asgore trails off, frowning and biting his thin lower lip in thought with a sharp upper fang. After a moment of thought, he looks Undyne in the eye once more, vexation afloat in his scarlet eyes. "I'm concerned about (Name) being around Sans. Alphys was very adamant about keeping Sans away from her the other night... Are you certain it's safe for him to approach her so soon since that debacle?" 

Undyne's good mood falters a bit into concern, but she eventually offers Asgore a firm, blinding grin. "Don't worry, I'm keeping him in check. I've already told him what would happen if he so much as _considered_ stepping past that line. I've even asked Papyrus to keep an eye on her too- we've got all our bases covered when it comes to Sans and (Name)."

Frisk jumps up on their seat, standing and nearly losing their balance as they sign, **"I'll watch her back too! She owes me a date!"** Frisk pauses and makes a face of expectancy, glancing up at the stairway past the kitchen. **"Speaking of, so does Druella."**

Asgore relaxes a bit more, releasing a breath as he lets his nerves settle for a moment. He blames his fatherly instincts for worrying over you. What's he got to worry about though? You're in good hands...

"...Where _is_ that tall chick, by the way?" Undyne asks, raising a brow towards Asgore in question as she shoves her chair back in it's place. Asgore winces slightly, but doesn't say anything about the visible indents Undyne's been creating against the table the past two months by repeatedly shoving the chair back in like that. 

"She's out working to pay for rent..." Asgore comments, causing Undyne to raise a brow in surprise.

"Wait, you make her pay rent?! _Fluffybuns!"_  Undyne scolds, until the king of monsters raises his hands defensively, smiling sheepishly as Undyne narrows her single gold eye on him. 

"No, I don't _make_ her pay it. She said she wants to do something to help me out for housing her while she's here... I've tried to refuse, but when I do, I find that she pays for bills without my notice. She's... Pretty determined, I have to say," King Asgore laughs a little, reaching up to rub the back of his head with a grin.

"Hah, _sounds_ determined! Tell her I say hi and that she needs to hang out with Alphys, Paps, (Name) and I soon!" Undyne says, giving Frisk one more pat on the head. "Get to bed, you nerdy fart, it's past your bed time!"

Frisk gives her an indignant glare, scrunching their features together as they sign, **"Make me!"**

King Asgore lets out a jolly laugh, standing and plucking Frisk off of their seat with little to no effort, causing the kid to drop their glare and look up at Asgore with a cheerful look of innocence. "She's right, you know? Lets get you to bed, you have school in the morning."

Frisk turns to stick their tongue out at Undyne as Asgore carries them upstairs, with one last farewell over his shoulder as Undyne grins and heads out the door. Whatever shenanegans you're up to, she isn't sure, but they can't be _that_ dangerous, can they? It's not like you're going to run into another crazy bastard like you did the last time- that would be _crazy_ bad luck. With that in mind, she breaks into a jog towards her car, hopping in and starting up the truck with a grin.

_I'm comin' for ya, Girlie~!_

* * *

_(Present Time)_

_"...? Hel-LOOO? (Name), you there? Or is this a butt dial?! GIRLIE, YOUR BUTT BETTER NOT HAVE DIALED ME. Where are you?!"_ Undyne's voice reverberates from the speaker against your ear, causing your stomach to drop like a fifty pound weight.

"Undyne? Undyne, can you hear me?" You repeat, pulling your phone away from your ear when she proceeds to keep calling out to you on the phone. You don't have her on hold, do you? 

You check the information and feel your eyes widen at the sight of what you see displayed on your phone.

**Captain Fish Bitch: Call Time 00:00 min- 3:20 AM**

_3:20 AM? I looked at my phone five minute ago and it was 3:20, how can it still be...?_

You put the phone to your ear again, hearing Undyne huff in frustration. 

_"Stupid phone, I need Alphys to upgrade us soon..."_  You hear her say, before the green call button at the bottom flickers to red when Undyne ends the call on her side of the line. At first, you're at a complete loss on what to do, and you can only look from the dust pile beside you and your phone with a horrified expression of fear. You hug your phone against your chest and shoot glances around the end of the alley nervously. What if that _thing_ comes back?

...

You _know_ you can't stay here.

You turn to shove your phone in the waistband of your excercise pants, reaching back into the garbage in search of something to...

...This will do.

With a soft grunt under your breath, you pull out an old sticky _Big Gulp_ cup from the trash and open the lid to make sure it's contents are completely empty, sighing in relief at there only being one sticky area at the very bottom of the cup. Promptly after, you force yourself to get on your knees with only a little hesitation, cringing and shivering as you sweep the fine dust and black bits into the cup with a mutter of apology. You hate the idea of getting it on you... If this is human dust and dusting a human is possible... 

It's just completely messed up.

Once you've gotten most of the dust in the cup, you seal it shut and abandon the jacket and other clothing you find as you were sweeping the dust into the cup, hugging the item against you with another apology. No matter how rotten or foul a person is, _nobody_ deserves to die.

You're just about to start leaving when something taps your shoulder twice, causing you to swing around with terror lining your features. Who is it?!

...!

"Sta-! I mean, _Gaster!"_  You blurt out, before slapping a hand over your mouth and shifting your eyes behind you at the exit to make sure nothing _else_ has heard you. With that, you turn back towards the melting being before you, who stares at you warmly when you speak their name. You're not sure why saying their name makes them look so happy, but before you can get distracted, Gaster raises their hands.

**'THE MOUNTAIN.'** They sign fluidly in that language of sign you are somewhat familiar, yet unfamiliar with. Sans and Papyrus secret language...

You shake your head nervously, only sparing one glance towards the direction of the mountain. You need _your_ answers first- what the _hell_ is going on?

"Wait, tell me what's happening first! Why didn't you just come to me like you're doing now? Why did you bring me here if that... That _thing_ was going to be here?" You ask with a harsh whisper, taking several glances back in case _it_ makes another appearance while you and Gaster are talking. "I thought you were _helping_ me..."

Gaster's expression falters, like your words actually hurt them on an emotional level. You feel somewhat guilty for doing this, but promptly shake it off moments after. You don't have time to baby their feelings, you can apologize later. You need to be firm and confident right now- even if you don't feel like it. Even if you're scared.

You need to be strong.

**'CANNOT DO THIS OFTEN. CANNOT DO WITHOUT IT. PAINFUL.'** Gaster signs quickly, like you two are short on time... Which, considering their words, sounds like you really are.

Their words are vague at best, once again. Not because they're leaving something out though- it appears to be the language difference... You understand it, but not on a level you _could_ understand it best. Maybe you're going to have to replay his hand signs to Papyrus when you see him in class tomorrow.

_IF you see him again, at all,_  the foul voice of doubt makes itself known in the back of your mind, but you do well to shake it off when you notice Gaster's physical image seem to... Glitch? It's like they're melting even more, and your expression shifts with understanding.

Visiting you like they did that time you passed out at Undyne's house- it physically _damages_ them. Okay, so that makes sense... But what does, "Cannot do without it" mean? Are they talking about that _thing?_ Before you can ask anything, Gaster seems to anticipate your query, because they start signing again.

**'MORE PAIN MY ENERGY. LESS PAIN IT'S ENERGY.'**

And with that, you understand a smidgen more. 

Gaster can speak to you a little longer if they visit you like _this._ Visiting by, at least you hope you're understanding them correctly, using that creatures energy. Is Gaster talking about magic? Are they saying that many-eyed creature has magic? You can't ask anymore, because Gaster is signing again, hand movements growing faster as time passes.

**'TIMELESS. HURRY TO HUM. MOUNTAIN. FOLLOW HUM. IT SEARCHES FOR HUM. FIND FIRST.'**

You're suddenly very confused again, and just the _mention_ of needing to hurry to something makes your nerves coil up with sheer anxiety. Hurry? Hurry and do _what?!_  

"But-!" You start, only for Gaster to shake their head firmly.

One last hand sign.

**'GO. RUN.'**

You watch as Gaster completely dissolves before you- melting into something much like light and smoke before you're left standing in the alley gobsmacked. You need to hurry? But the dusted human! The thing! The _reason_ to follow Gaster's pleas! You don't know what you need to be doing- what you _should_ be doing- or even what you _want_ to be doing!

"Timeless," you breathe, glancing at the phone shoved in your waist band as you it the side button and arch it at an angle to read the time.

...It's still 3:20 AM. That's what they mean by saying 'Timeless'... How is it even possible? Are you stuck in a moment in time? ...And this isn't maybe a dream? If this is all _really_ happening, will time resume eventually? Or are you going to be stuck here?

_Hurry to hum._

Hum. The hum... Is that the noise you've been hearing on campus? The one Betsy said she couldn't hear but _you_ could? What's making that hum? Gaster mentioned the mountain...

You lift your head to glance up in the direction of the mountain, right before your legs start moving you to the truck at the end of the alley. Is it really dead? Maybe you can put it to use!

Swinging the door open, you jump in the seat with the dust cup and turn the key cautiously a few times with no change in the car's power. After that, you hop back out and curse as you start running, keeping an eye out for any trouble. 

_The mountain... Gaster wants me to go to Mt. Ebott, where the monsters were trapped. This is a bad idea,_ you think to yourself, but don't slow down one bit. Something inside you trusts Gaster... You can only hope this feeling inside of you is trustworthy in itself, or else? You might find yourself in a _lot_ of trouble. Nobody is allowed down under there... No matter what. People curious of monster's living situations have ventured down there- some never returning and some returning only to get a hefty punishment from the law under the orders of, at least from what you've heard, King Asgore Dreemurr. You're aware he does this because going down there is 'dangerous' for some reason, but why he may say that, even though the undergrounds are also claimed to be completely abandoned, is beyond you.

Whelp. Looks like you're about to go and find out...  

... _Gaster didn't even tell me what I'm supposed to be looking for when I get there. I can't hear the hum right now... Will I be able to when I get closer?_  You wonder, determination flooding your soul as you finally exit the alley and take off into the dark night- not a single soul in sight. A pang of familiarity rings in your heart as you see the empty streets- which should at least be mildly busy despite the hour. It's a _city_ area and this is a main street. Back in the area where the accident occurred and the street leading to yours and Libby's place? _That_ area is always practically dead. Coming out this exit though, the one by the mobile store where you got your phone with Undyne, Papyrus, and Alphys? There's always at least a handful of cars passing through this street...

Honestly, it looks like that time you first heard Gaster's presence. When you were at the hospital trying to leave and you saw that Froggit getting attacked and taken over.

Froggit wasn't here this time though... And although you dreamed of Alphys in the same eerie sense, nor is _she_ here. So were those honest predictions? Or... _Potential_ predictions? Could they maybe still happen?

_It's okay_ , you think, shaking your concerns as you slow to a jog, breathing hard and exerting your muscles as you trek towards your destination- a tall mountain looming high over the city up North. _Gaster said it's going after the hum. If anyone is in danger of getting attacked, it's me._

It's not a comforting thought- you're not suicidal and you do _not_ want to die whatsoever. Somehow though... You're just a little relieved that it's not Alphys or one of those cute, little frog monsters having to deal with a situation like this.

You have so many questions... But until then, you're only getting one question answered. The source of that humming- and maybe finding _this_ out will give you answers to other things.

...Like the biggest question you've had plaguing you in the back of your mind.

_... **Why me?**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheeee'll beeee... Comin' around the mountain when she cooomes~ (Toot toot!)  
> She'll be comin' around the mountain when she cooomes~! (Toot toot!)
> 
> She'll be comin' around the mountain  
> She'll be trippin' and falling down and  
> She'll be learnin' the rules of obliteration~ eradication~ deterMINAAA-tion~!
> 
>  
> 
> _"In this world, it's kill or be killed."_
> 
>  
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> GUESS WHO GRACED US WITH ANOTHER MIND BLOWING PIECE OF ART?! TwT 
> 
> MetaMaterialGirl is my muse and her artwork continues to blow me away every time I look at them (which is, like, all the time, because I've made her art my backgrounds and lurk around her DeviantArt page fawning over her perfect line art skills and coloring~ <3) 
> 
> The link is below! If you haven't seen her other works, they're ALLL below! 
> 
> Look at them. Allow yourself to bask in their infinite awe-inspiring aura. Then bask in it some more.
> 
> Please show her some love for her hard work! She's amazing~! (Squish, squish!!)  
> #IAmNotWorthy!!!
> 
> Linkses~:  
> [Phone Apple Feet Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)


	29. Effort and Strain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...What were we all doing again?

 Chapter 29: Effort and Strain

 

Undyne blinks several times as the fourth call she's gotten from your number cuts off suddenly without the need for her to end it. There is no different outcome from this call, other than the sound of a high pitched frequency above some white noise. You've called four times in a row already, but every time she picks up the phone, nobody answers her verbal reply. She's standing outside of your home on your street with her phone at hand, staring intently at your broken front door where she can see Libby crouched down fixing the door frame to your front entrance. Looks like Libby can't see her from her current distance, despite her vibrant fire red hair and sharp teal scales.

_...This makes no sense!_   _Where did she-_

In a blink of an eye, Undyne feels a strain in the back of her head- but the feeling is gone as soon as it appears. The phone, once held tightly in her clawed grip, suddenly slips from her webbed fingers, hitting the ground with a loud clatter as she stares at your house, expression becoming relaxed... And eventually fading into a look of mild confusion. Undyne gives the front lawn and Libby a strange look and tilts her head a smidgen as her vision refocuses. After her brows knit together, she tears her gaze away from the house and allows her gaze to flick around the street along your block. As she does this, she makes a face of puzzled irritation.

"...? What the _hell_ am I doin' out here?" Undyne asks herself out loud, catching the attention of the tall blonde fixing her door.

The human with long blonde hair and a height that rivals that of Undyne's herself turns around curiously and straightens up onto her feet, frowning slightly in confusion. For a moment, it's like she remembers something... But as quickly as she notices, it fades into the back of her mind immediately.

The first thing on her mind is the fact that this monster looks sort of familiar, but... At the same time, she's definitely positive she's never met her before. Or has she? ...She's not quite sure.

Liberty Sterling recognizes this monster from somewhere, regarding a specific incident... Though she's not sure what incident that would be, or _why_ she recognizes the monster at all. Best to be civilized, however, and with that, the blonde gives the fish monster a wave.

"Can I help you?" Libby calls out to her, fixing her cropped button up top with a raised brow of curiosity. The sound of her voice snaps Undyne out of her bemused state and the monster immediately looks back up to meet her gaze. Startled by her appearance, even though she's been there the whole time, Undyne shakes her head in reply, bending down to retrieve her phone from the unforgiving ground. Luckily for Undyne, it would take an apocalypse of nuclear proportions to destroy this phone- and even then she's not so sure.

"Oh! Nah, I'm good, punk! A little lost on why I'm on this block in the first place, but... I think I'mma race home and see if that'll jog my memory. See ya, fleshie!" Undyne salutes the stranger, flashing a grin of her sharp barracuda-esque teeth before spinning around on her heel and taking off at a brisk run back towards the direction of her home. Whatever she's doing out there on the street soon fades to the shadows of her mind, but it's while she pulls out her phone and looks through her call log (why are there four missed calls from a glitched out number made all at 3:20...?) that she notices something _really_ odd in her text message threads.

To be specific, one message from Sans and a reply she made that causes Undyne to halt in her running to read through them.

_**Lazy Nerdo Face** : 'miss human is lurking a few blocks down her street taking a walk, according to libby. just thought i'd let you know since papyrus wants me home and i can't watch to make sure she doesn't get herself into any stupid situations.'_

_**Captain Fish Bitch** : 'So you want me to check on her? Sure, punk. Anything for Papyrus' future sister-in-law, NGAH HAH HAH!!!'_

Undyne blatantly scowls at the two messages, confused beyond belief. Never mind the fact that she has _no idea_ who Sans is talking about when he says "Miss Human", but what is this thing _she_ wrote about Papyrus' "future sister-in-law"? Sans is dating a human? Okay, but apparently  _she_ texted this... Hell, the message even _sounds_ like something she would say.

So if that's the case... Why doesn't she remember sending it? And why doesn't she remember who "Miss Human" is? Just what human is so important that Sans would think she would willingly go out of her way to make sure they don't put themselves in a stupid situation? It can't be Frisk, they've made it clear that they wanted to be referred to by the pronoun "they", and Sans wouldn't have an issue with _that._ Not to mention that Frisk is a child right now and Sans is an obvious _adult_ _._ No, Sans is obviously talking about someone _else..._ In that case, who is so important that it would make that lazy human-wary skeleton concerned for their well being? 

Undyne runs a hand through the flip of red bangs, which hangs just atop her left eye patch as she glares at the screen of her phone with her single gold iris. Thinking about all this is hurting her head so much... What should she do? Go back and investigate? Call Sans?

...

The fish monster taps away at her ancient, but well utilized cellphone, bringing the device up to her head behind her ear fin curiously as she decidedly calls the glitched out number saved in her call log. Maybe this might give her some answers? It's odd that this is in her phone, as odd as the messages... Do they have something to do with this "Miss Human" character?

...Well, not like she'll get that answer yet. There's no sound, even as the digits for the time spent in-call show up on the screen when she pulls the phone away from her ear fin to check. At first glance, she doesn't notice anything odd, other than the fact that the call has gone through and there is yet to be a single sound- save for a high pitched frequency and a light amount of static in the background. When she looks at the screen again though, something catches her attention. 

_Time spent in call; **00:00.**_

_What the hell?_  Undyne thinks to herself, just as a strange feeling makes itself known deep in the recesses of her mind. It's a heavy weight of anxiety piled on her, one she hasn't felt since the time she first met Alphys at the dumps in Waterfall, where the lizard monster stood a _little_ too close to the edge of the pit- looking over the edge curiously. The sensation of uneasiness settles like tar over her body, and before she even fully registers the feelings, Undyne is already jogging back the way she came.

She briefly wonders what in the world she is running back to that street for- until she notices that it's not the street she's running towards. It's... More like a feeling in her gut. Her _soul._  Something that she feels in the air, weak but nonetheless present. Something _familiar._

So, like the well trained Captain of the Royal Guard, Undyne follows.

Undyne does not stop for anything. She doesn't hesitate with any more thinking or speculation, and she doesn't allow this feeling to fade into the back of her mind again. She just runs and runs... She doesn't even stop running when she realizes this "feeling" is leading her straight back towards the infamous cage of a home that once housed her kind...  

_Mt. Ebott._

* * *

 

Undyne being able to answer your phone call, despite the circumstances, continues to plague you in the back of your mind. Despite Gaster making it very clear- and you checking the time repeatedly as you run through the dead and empty reality of the timeless zone- you are in a zone where time has likely stopped... Or maybe where it doesn't matter at all? Well, never mind _that_ , obviously, your phone will not work if time has screwed up for you but not for her.

Regardless of this, you uselessly attempt to reach her by calling her phone non stop. Unlike when you first called her however, every continued call, which initially allows four calls to go through to a very agitated sounding Fish Bitch, grows weaker and weaker- until your calls no longer manage to connect to her. You've tried even texting her and emailing her like crazy, but although your phone is functioning perfectly well when you don't try messaging her, your phone freezes and closes everything back to the menu whenever you send a message out.

_'Undyne??'  
_ _'Are you getting my messages?'  
_ _'I'm somewhere weird, Static said it's a "timeless" place'  
_ _'I think I'm in trouble'_

Out of desperation for help, you've even messaged Papyrus, Alphys, and Sans.

_'Alphys? It's (Name), are you getting this?'  
_ _'Paps?? Are you there?'  
_ _'...I wouldn't be messaging you if I wasn't this desperate, please tell me you're getting this message, Sans'_

_'...Are none of you able to hear me?'_

_Maybe it has to do with me getting further away from the point in which time stopped...? I don't know! I don't understand anything about magic- let alone relativity of time! I haven't taken a physics class yet!_  You think, just as you start to slow down close towards the edge of town, where an empty park you used to visit with Libby when the two of you were kids resides. It's dark- but despite the fog hanging in the air, it's not at all cold. In fact, you don't even feel the familiar humidity that this city is known for around this time of the year.

It's like everything truly _has_ stopped... You've been trying to convince yourself that this may all just be a bad dream, but the realistic pain of your exhaustion keeps you alert. The burn in your calves that throbs like a wildfire has you turning your head in every direction. The cold rush of oxygen you exhale, drying your throat and lips is a constant reminder that this is all _really happening._  

You dial Undyne's number for the fourteenth time, and you _know_ this is your fourteenth attempt at calling her, because your smartphone has conveniently marked down every single worthless call you've made despite the device's complete failure to connect more than half of the phone calls. 

...

As expected, there is no answer, and you evidently shove your phone in the waistband of your exercise leggings with a foul curse of frustration. There's this nagging feeling you have in your gut that is giving you the suspicion you're being watched, or maybe someone- some _thing-_ is following you as you catch your breath. You scan the area furtively, alert and wary like a prey animal in the middle of a predator's turf. As you glance around, you're well aware that it doesn't _look_ like anything is following you... But you're certainly not naive enough to fully take what you see (or in this case, _don't_  see) for granted. An abundant amount of corners, alleys, bushes and trees across the fields gives access to a ludicrous amount of hiding places.

_Sans said he was watching me before, right? Well, maybe...Maybe he's playing another terrible joke on me! This could be a another one of his stupid tricks using a different type of his magic!_

"...S-Sans?" You call out hopefully with a crack in your voice, flinching and tensing up at the broken silence as his name escapes your lips. Honestly, you've never wanted to see his stupid face as much as you want to see it right now... 

You search for a sign of him after you say his name, but decide against calling out a second time. It's risky enough trying it once, no need to raise your chances of being noticed by something _other_ than Sans. Either way, you've taken a long enough pause and Sans does not step out of the shadows with that familiar grin of amusement you've gotten used to seeing across his skeletal face. If someone _else_ is following you, they do not make their presence known whatsoever.

Half of you is calling yourself a dumb ass for considering Sans can even enter this so-called "timeless zone", but really, how do you know that he _can't?_  Must you reiterate it again? You aren't a professional when it comes to magic. For all you know, Sans could probably have more to do with Gaster than you originally suspect. They _look_ similar enough, right? Granted, Papyrus shares the resemblance, but you don't consider him secretive enough to hide something important like this from you. After all, even _he_ was shocked when he saw that you could sign in the Super Stupid Brother Language. His brother though? That guy is as secretive and spooky as a guy can _get._ What if he's straight-up lying to you about only having the access to the notebook content to throw you off the correct trail? What if he knows more than he lets on, but isn't telling you since you're a _human?_

You shake your thoughts out of your head and start running again, breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Although the temperature of the environment is neither hot nor cold, you yourself seem to exhale a chilling cool air as you run- a stark contrast to the usual hot and warm air all people release from their bodies. You don't feel cold though, so you have no idea why air is escaping you this way. In the end, you decide it's just another quirk of this timeless zone and call it a day.

Panting, you reach a knit chicken wire gate behind a public use baseball diamond in a familiar park-

**SNAP.**

The sound of a large branch snapping in half has a violent thrum of sharp fear running through your veins. You nearly freeze out of terror, but the intense urge to get somewhere and _hide_ is enough of an adrenaline boost to swing around some underbrush behind the chicken wire and baseball diamond, hugging the makeshift urn of a big gulp cup against you.

Your hand slaps over your mouth carefully to conceal how hard you're breathing.

Where did it come from? You heard it- it was _loud..._  But you were so scared by the sudden noise in this zone of dead silence that you didn't think to determine where exactly it came from.

_Where? Where?_  You question relentlessly, horrified by the possibility you've hidden too close to it.

... 

...Movement!

Your neck snaps in the area far to your right, past the chicken wire where you're only _half_  sure you saw something moving in the darkness. For a moment, you stare to make sure you're not seeing things in your state of sheer anxiety... Until you remember what Gaster told you.

_Don't look at it without it_ 's (________)!

Without it's _what?_

_Why_ shouldn't you look at it?

This question continues to plague you, even as you force yourself to look away from the area where you think you saw something moving. 

...!

Something else moves to your immediate right, and you inhale sharply upon turning your head. This time... It's not what you think, and although the sight is surprising, you mentally curse at this urge you have to look directly wherever you think you see movement. All you know is that you're lucky you haven't looked when that _thing_ is actually moving in your line of sight... You don't want to see what will happen if you _do_ end up looking at it like Gaster told you not to do.

A couple of leaves to the bushes on your direct right are doing something very odd. 

Catching your breath and attempting to breathe softly, you reach out and run your fingers over the plant leaves that seem to be changing to different shades of pink, purple, and red... almost like a kaleidoscope. They look vibrant against the dull leaves... But they aren't glowing or anything like that. 

_You should probably move,_  You think to yourself for a moment, but continue to stare at the leaves in confusion. Why are they so strange looking? Besides the unnatural changing colors of a few leaves... The entire bush looks wrong. Even the trunk of the trees that begin the layout of wild growth past the suburban city limit, and the baseball field too.

The longer you stare at them in your moment of tension, you realize why they look so strange.

Everything is dull looking, but because you assume it to be dark here, you didn't notice it before. You can see just fine- despite the lack of true light. What's strange is that although you have sufficient vision of your surroundings, everything is black and white. There is no color in any direction, not even on what was once an orange neon strip along the pants of your legs, save for the couple of plant leaves next to you. You briefly wonder why they are colored and the strip of your pants are not...

_This is too strange... I don't want to stay and figure it out, I just want this all_ over _with,_  you decide with a shiver as you look down at the cup in your hands.

...You can't continue with this along. You have to move quickly, and babying the cup of remains...

With a wince of pity, you nestle the cup in the bushes and whisper apologies as you crawl backwards past some more bushes, guilt blooming in your stomach. Eventually, you bring yourself to stand and start pushing your way through bits of nature, planting a foot in each place carefully.

As you turn away towards the woods leading away from the city limit, you are met with the vast array of colorless trees ahead of you. There are no sounds of nature like singing crickets or gentle whistles of the wind, other than the occasional snapping of a twig or leaves as you misstep in your hurry to get out of that area...

...Or as something moves through the darkness a good distance away. It's not too close, but it's enough to send mad shivers of fear up and down your spine when you notice the gentle cracking of semi dry leaves.

You don't risk turning your head this time. You want to run so badly- but it doesn't seem like it notices you yet... You're terrified of it finding you.

Scared of it getting any closer than it already is.

...And so, you keep walking, praying uselessly to whatever deity is willing to listen to a worthless soul like you, that you make it to whatever it is Gaster wants you to get to before that _thing_ does. 

* * *

 

Undyne skids to a slow stop as she comes across a dark park, barely lit by a few flickering lamps hanging overhead on the sidewalk. It's already 3:47 AM and Alphys has messaged asking where she is. She's never lied to Alphys before, and she isn't going to start now or anytime in the near future, so she answers honestly.

Basically, the answer Alphys gets is that her fire haired girlfriend is running towards Mt. Ebott for god knows whatever reason.

Although worried by this blunt and confusing response of her girlfriend's actions, Alphys wishes Undyne safety in her task despite her concern and reluctantly sits on the couch in their place beside Greater Dog, the two no longer even sure of the reason they've been together for most of the day. Of course, a rub behind Greater Dog's ears by Alphys is enough to make the dog monster forget his concerns, curling up in an armored ball on Alphys' feet while she busies herself with petting him to quell her own nerves.

On Undyne's side, she just smiles at her girlfriend's obvious concern and sends back one more kissy face emoticon before tucking her phone away and scanning the park.

Hardly anyone is out since it's so late- just one person strolling along the grass with their quite large happy-ass bloodhound, who is running around the feild without a leash like crazy with it's tongue flapping out from it's mouth. At the sight of the stupidly happy dog, Undyne smiles in amusement and watches the dog and owner for a minute or two.

_As it should be,_ Undyne momentarily thinks with a nod of satisfaction... Before the girl looks up and meets Undyne's gaze, causing Undyne enough distraction to forget why she's out there in the first place. The feeling of familiarity she's following with her soul dissolves away as she smiles wildly at the sight of the familiar girl's nearly expressionless face.

"HEY, PUNK!" Undyne shouts her usual greeting, jogging the rest of the way over to the girl with dark black hair and one pink and yellow braid along the side of her face. The rest of her dark hair is gathered back in a lazy bun behind the nape of her neck. Once Undyne stops beside her, the bloodhound never stopping it's playful running other than to give a Undyne a sniff and a nice bark before continuing it's run, the girl nods in the monster's direction. 

"Hi," Druella says easily, hands shoved in the front pockets of her jacket as she turns to continue watching her large dog roam about.

"Sooo... What's up with walking your dog at four AM anyways?" Undyne easily sparks up conversation, watching as Druella's irises flick back over towards her. Druella may not be as emotive as some people out there, but she's definitely not rude. As a result, she answer's Undyne's query easily.

"We're not walking for excercise. Cynthia is helping me find someone, but we're taking a quick break right now," Druella explains calmly, watching Undyne raise a brow in surprise.

"Oh, her name is Cynthia? That's an interesting pick for a dog... I mean, you humans have some weird ass names, but hey, you tried," Undyne says with a snort of amusement before noticing Cynthia pause to glance around and sniff the ground close towards the park area. "I assume your dog has a good nose?"

"Yeah. One of the best in the market, apparently..." Druella says, before tilting her head a little to the side in thought as she sees Cynthia take interest in something towards the back of the park. Undyne quietly observes the pair as Cynthia tyrns her head back towards Druella, tail wagging before proceeding to make her way towards the field deeper into the park. "She must have found something interesting." 

As she says this, Druella pulls a hands from her pocket to bring a bar of white chocolate to her lips, taking a bite as she follows her dog. Considering Undyne has nothing else better to do, she follows out of curiosity, looking quite impressed as Cynthia continues towards what looks to be a baseball field near the end of the city limit. The dog has a super sniffer and she isn't even a monster like Greater Dog or Lesser Dog! That's a feat if Undyne's ever seen one...

"So what brings you out here, Undyne?" Druella asks, though her tone is quite mellow as she stops near the corner of a baseball diamond, allowing her dog to rush around with it's nose close to the ground. Lucky for Druella, her bloodhound is stubborn, and once she catches the scent of something even _remotely_ familiar to what Druella has deployed her to find, she applies herself one hundred percent.

Undyne smiles, flashing her razor sharp teeth in delight as she puts both hands on her hips. "Well-!" Undyne begins... Before pausing and looking around in remembrance. That's right, she's here because she was following that _gut_ feeling of hers! "...You know? I'm not actually sure. I can't remember. I was kind of just following a gut feeling. I need to get to Mt. Ebott though."

Druella finally turns to look at her full on, raising a single eye brow in surprise. "Really? Asgore is letting you go down there?" She inquires, arms crossed with clear interest. For a moment, Undyne wonders why someone like Druella, who looks to be completely uninterested in monsters and humans alike for the most part, would find interest in Undyne's journey down underground... But after a second, she shakes this query off. Druella doesn't seem dangerous at all... Though one can't help but be wary anyways.

"Hm? Well... Not exactly. I mean, I'm sure he'd be mad if he heard, but I'm well equipped enough to handle myself down there that it wouldn't be an issue like it probably would if somebody else decided to jump down. Why? You interested in somethin' with Mt. Ebott?" Undyne boldly asks, though Druella doesn't seem at all bothered by her blunt inquiry or intense stare. If anything... The glint in Druella's eyes gives her the appearance of looking intrigued.

"...Cynthia has been trying to get us on the path towards Mt. Ebott the past four days. I've informed Asgore of this, but he explained to me there's nothing that lives down there," Druella explains, watching as Undyne nods in understanding before looking towards the mountain and shrugging in thought.

"I guess I can escort you since I'm jumpin' down there. That way Asgore can't get as huffy if he finds out... Just don't tell him unless he _really_  needs to know," Undyne stresses with a wry grin of mischief, just as Cynthia gives a bark back at the duo to grab their attention.

"Alright... Let's get going then," Druella huffs, pulling at the yellow bandanna around her neck as she falls into step with Undyne.

** Prrrriiing~! Prrrriiing~!**

Undyne jumps at the unexpected sound of a phone call in her Neko-MewMew ringtone, and pulls her phone out to see who's calling her...

* * *

 

The sound of the tips of phalanges clicking in a soft, rhythmic wave echoes in the unkempt room of one very messy and lazy skeleton who sits with his back to the headboard of his bed, glaring impatiently at the wall ahead of him where his trash tornado spins counter clockwise in place- with no sign of stopping in the near or distant future. 

...

A bit of time has passed since he heard from Undyne. You couldn't have gone far, why hasn't she messaged him back yet? What does she think, that he wouldn't want updates on the situation?

_Yes,_  a voice states sourly in the back of his head, reminding Sans that despite Undyne beginning to "ship" you with him, she is likely still very cautious when it comes to the two of you. Rather than listen to this voice though, Sans huffs and rests his chin on his hands- ending that rhythmic tapping of his bony fingers as he does his best to wait patiently for Undyne's message. He's finished listening to Papyrus long tale of your date and the hazards and trifles that accompanied the two of you that night (even though Sans saw every last bit of it).

Listening to Papyrus talk about _that_ had Sans complete and undivided attention.

"It was the most _enthralling_ experiences I've ever had the opportunity to experience on a date! In fact, this date may have turned out to have an even greater outcome than that of Frisk's! Brother, that is _saying_ something! I'VE EXPERIENCED OVERKILL! Her date power...! It was _prodigious!_  Second only to my own! SANS!" Papyrus had grabbed his shoulders at this point, and Sans recalls the huge smile on his brother's face as his eye sockets twinkled in jaunty delight. "Sans. Do you know what else I came to the conclusion of following our date night? Miss Human...! Miss Human is _madly in love with me!_  Yet she so graciously jumped at the opportunity of friendship before I could even bring it up myself!"

"Hehe, that's 'cause she wants a cool friend like you to brag about, bro," Sans had commented after that with a lazy grin, causing Papyrus throw his arms up after dropping Sans on his feet.

"THAT'S THE EXACT CONCLUSION I CAME TO, SANS! What are the odds?! This obviously has something in correlation with _fate!"_ His tall brother insists, just as Sans starts to tuck him in bed. Sans had to pin his arms down to get the blanket around him correctly, lazily nodding in agreement to all of his brother's words. "I will be the _greatest_ friend to Miss Human! In fact... _**I'll** be her bestie!"_  

Sans had paused to raise a brow bone at this point, giving his brother a curious look of inquisitive confusion. "Oh? I thought Undyne was aiming for that spot with her," Sans had stated, despite that he could practically _smell_ what his brother would say after this reminder of his.

"All's equitable in affection and competition." Papyrus had said this with the most satisfied of skeletal grins as he was tucked in bed successfully like a burrito- his night cap placed on his head comfortably while Sans nodded and laughed at his cool bro's antics.

"True, you're absolutely right, Paps... So, you ready for Peek-a-boo With Fluffy Bunny?"

Flash forward back to the present and Sans' eye sockets droop with the need to sleep. He's tired, irritated, and his phone hasn't received any messages- let alone a phone call. 

...

The skeleton monster gets up and leaves his bedroom, making his way out to the living room couch to pull his knees up against his chest. Once seated, he reaches out over the armrest to pick up his mobile device again and check the time. 

3:51 AM.

He should _not_ be up right now, Sans and a lack of sleep? That's like _asking_ for fate to take his one point of HP away.

_...I'm tired of waiting,_ Sans decides, speed dialing Undyne and slapping his phone to the side of his skull irritably. She better have had a good reason for leaving Sans in the dark, other than to torture him.

_"Hey, you lazy nerd! Whatcha' callin' me for?!"_  Undyne barks through the line jovially. Sans, however, is used to this kind of screaming greeting from both his brother and Undyne, so he doesn't flinch or pull the phone away from his skull. This skeleton monster is _so_  done with Undyne's antics at the moment...

"What am I _calling for?_  You're joking, right?" Sans huffs moodily, keeping his voice low so Papyrus doesn't wake up. His eye lights fade from his eye sockets as he gets prepared to rip Undyne a new one. "I've been waiting nearly an _hour_ for some kind of update- so did you find Miss Human or not?"

Undyne falls uncharacteristically silent, like she's thinking her next words _very_ carefully.

_"Yeah, about 'Miss Human', Sans..."_  She starts, sounding a bit frustrated as she formulates her words. _"...Listen, I am being one hundred percent dead serious here- I have **no idea**  who you're talking about."_

Sans eye lights return, his face twisting up and his eye twitching as his mind reels in confusion.

"...I'm sorry, I think I've heard you wrong, you don't remember the girl you've personally been annoying for over a _week_ now? The same human you threatened to kebab me for being a total asshole to? ... _The same girl we were just literally following around hours ago on her date with Paps?"_  Sans echoes dangerously as his temper begins to slowly rise and rise. His left eye tingles with the urge to release magic, but he keeps the reigns on himself in check.

_"Look, I know! I know it's weird, and I think something weird is going on. I saw our text messages from earlier- but I seriously can_ ' _t remember a face or even a name. I don't even know what **I** was talking about in that message I sent! I- what? Did she find something, or...? Wait, you know who the lazy bones is talking about?"_

Sans raises a brow of further bewilderment. Is Undyne with somebody else right now?

"...Undyne, Tell me where you're at, I'll come and meet up with-" Sans begins, shifting to stand up from the couch and grab his pink slippers tossed on the floor a few feet away. Sans expects an initial rejection of this question he makes, but the _intensity_ of Undyne's rejection is completely out of the blue.

_"Wha- **NO,"**_ Undyne blurts out, causing Sans' eye sockets to widen in surprise at the harsh verbal snap she's unexpectedly delivered. Before Sans can even begin to retaliate, Undyne stammers awkwardly. _"I-I mean... I'm following something. With a friend of Asgore's. Look, you know what's weird? Why I can't remember this human. At all. Try and find out who else remembers and who doesn't, I'm about to do something that might make Fluffybuns angry later."_

So basically she wants Sans to do nothing. Wow.

"Whatever," Sans chooses to go with, hanging up on Undyne before she can say order anything else from him. Sans is _not_ one of her royal guardsmen, he quit that occupation long time ago- if he could even _call_ himself a royal guardsman, considering he only used those posts to open hot dog stands and nap.

"Brother?"

Sans mentally curses to himself. He must have been to loud or...

"What's this I heard about you following...? No, that's not as important. What were you saying about Undyne forgetting Miss Human?" Papyrus immediately queries, looking on at the frustrated expression on his brother's face... Before it begins to slowly turn into a look of realization.

Sans turns to face Papyrus, eye lights taking in his tall form- still tightly wrapped in that burrito of a blanket he tucked him in with.

"...You remember her, right, Paps? (Name)?" Sans asks, raising a single brow bone. At this, Papyrus narrows his eyes like Sans has just asked him a very stupid question?

"What do you take me for, Brother? One as great as _me_ does not lose sudden recollection of their beloved bestie in a mere hour or two!" Papyrus responds, attempting to pull an arm up from his blanket prison... And giving up when he finds the material too tightly cinched around him. "...So what exactly does Undyne mean?"

Sans sweats a bit, but yanks the blanket from around his brother to release him from the binding. Although he doesn't relish in the idea of bringing his brother on such a sketchy search to find you, he can't deny that having another pair of eye sockets will be useful. So yanks on his slippers and moves to get a bottle of ketchup for the road. "Grab your phone and get dressed, Paps. We're going out to look for her too."

* * *

 

_Silence._

The sound of movement has long since disappeared from around you as you walk carefully but quickly, eyes still planted ahead towards your destination. The sounds now only come from you- your heart rate, your breathing, and the shuffling of your clothes as you move your legs and arms. You're very tired... And the feeling of your stalker finally vanishing the immediate area leaves you exhausted beyond belief. Your date with Papyrus had been fun, you're willing to admit that much... As fun as it was, however, any good feelings ended the moment you found Halley's...

A wrangled knot of pity forms in your gut. You're sorry she had such a bad accident... Although, considering this current situation, you're still not sure it even _was_ an accident. What if that many-eyed _thing_ had something to do with her death? It's too coincidental... And Gaster knowing about it and leading you to the place of her "accident"? He's clearly trying to show that he wants to help you, but it all looks too suspicious.

And this hum is a complete mystery- for one, it seems like only you, that _thing,_ and Gaster are aware of it's existence, and it's safe to assume that only the three of you can hear it. What does that _thing_ want it for? What can you expect this hum to turn out to be, a person or an item? Is this thing sentient? What are you supposed to do with it/them when you find the source of the hum?

...Your headache from earlier is starting to come back.

The tip of your shoe suddenly hits a lump of dirt and rock, as if it's on a higher level than the ground you've been walking along. Snapping you out of your dazed state, you pull your foot back and give the ground a nasty snarl of annoyance- like it's somehow offended you by being higher than the ground preceding it. A second look ahead with a fresh pair of eyes, however, you come to the slow realization that through the endless walking and dodging of terrain and foliage- you've gotten surprisingly closer to the peak of Mt. Ebott.

It looks a lot steeper than it truly is from far away- and unknowingly until that point- you hadn't even noticed you were already beginning to climb it until then. Momentarily, you stop to drink in the majestic sight of the mountain, despite the environment's dead silence around you. Even in this twisted zone where time doesn't matter, the mountain still looms high with pride- despite what it's infamous for.

_Wait, so soon-?_  You start to think, before-

_**Hmmmmmmmmmm...**_

The musical sound of humming fills the air at an intense volume. Your eyes widen at the fact that you can almost feel it thrumming from beneath your feet, deep in the recesses of the mountain like-

_**CRACK!**_  

You gasp in surprise. That's the sound of what you can only imagine is a tree being snapped straight up in literal _half_ makes your back straighten up like a waterboard. You swing around, wide eyed and energy fully revitalized out of terror.

It's here? Has it been _following_ you...?!

There's not much time- you need to move fast. It either may be _exactly_ what you think it is, or something else- and you don't want to see what else lives in this timeless place of hell.

You rapidly climb up the rocky side of mountain now that you're sure you're in the right area. The tricky part will be finding the entrance to the underground, as you've never been up here and have never _ever_ thought of climbing this rocky giant. 

There's a strange noise as you scramble up the side of the mountain, pacing your breathing and ignoring the throbbing of your abdominal muscles as you lean and reach for proper footing so you don't end up toppling back. It sounds almost like...

**Snap!**   

A cold pain behind the back of your neck makes itself known as your body is thrown forward from the force of something slicing just a centimeter or so against the back of your neck. It feels like a scalding hot blade, and you instinctively reach back to touch the area of assault while throwing one hand forward to try and catch yourself before you hit the ground. 

The ground never comes though.

"... _Agh!"_  You cry out as something slick with a strong plant-like smell and tiny thorns scratches against the left side of your face, just a little too close to your ear as the rest of your body begins to tangle with vines. Where the vines have come from, you've no idea. Where the ground has gone, you don't know. 

All you really know, as vines snap apart from your body weight and momentum, is that you've fallen down some kind of pit. What are the chances you'll survive a fall like this when you're _still_ continuing to fall?

One vine snaps around you through your awkward fall and curls tightly around your right leg. 

Your body stops suddenly- and that vine that has managed to wrap around your leg crudely halts your descent without an ounce of mercy. For a moment, there is a subtle searing pain as a startled yelp is elicited from your instantly stopped momentum- your body hanging precariously upside down over the dark pit that continues on into blackness. You feel the snapping of something in the back of your thigh, but it's not bone that snaps. No, what you feel is your muscle straining beyond what you've ever felt before in your _life._

That's when the pain hits.

Any and all thoughts of stealth fly out the window as the vine continues to stretch that already torn muscle with your body weight, and with it you let out a piercing wail of agonizing pain. It HURTS! Your leg slides down the vines, and the thorns scrape deep into your skin, leaving trails as your body slips down the slick plan- until it knots around your ankle. Pain starts to well up around it, and you panic, wriggling through the swelling pain of your leg. You don't want to feel pain around your ankle either, what do you do?! Should you-?

** POP!**

Nothing stops you from screaming at the top of your lungs now. You've felt another horrendous at the uppermost portion of your hamstring, where it meets your pelvic bone. You're not sure what's happening under the skin, but it feels like it's ripping to the point of insanity. The panic you're feeling is just as bad as the horrible stretching of your limb as you hang at the mouth of the mountain pit like bait for whatever has been following you.

Your leg feels like it's about to _entirely detach from your body,_ and all you can think about is how you're going to die first: By the many-eyed creature following, by the fall once your leg detaches, or maybe alone and by blood loss?

Cold tears run from the corners of your eyes as you hang there with gasping whimpers of pain, gingerly feeling for the vine that is stretching your leg. You have to bend a little to reach it, and the torturous strain makes you stop every few moments to breathe and try to calm yourself. You're well aware that you're just escaping one awful outcome and running towards another. Even if you can save your leg, that fall won't be as forgiving as the vine.

You could land on your head.

You could break your neck.

You could ruin your leg even more.

Dragging your fingers across the back of your calf, you can feel rips in your pants, where your fingers wet with something cold and wet. Eventually, they find that slick vine and you dig your fingernails into it desperately, clawing at the stiff plant until-

Your body falls and the feeling of weightlessness takes over as you descend into the dark pit. Rather than keep your eyes open for the inevitable, you curl up your injured leg against your chest and close your eyes. You don't want to see it coming...

...

You hit something soft and yelp at the shock wave of momentum travelling across the back of your thigh.

_...Wh-what?_  You think, but keep your eyes shut as you lay curled up in fetal position, far too scared to see what's on the other side. Sweat coats your entire body from pain, and all you can do is quiver violently at the pain emanating from your ruptured hamstring. You gasp for a few seconds before you finally find the will and bravery to open your eyes and take a peek at what you've been lucky enough to land on.

Sticking to your face and all the areas of your arms and legs are little shiny orbs. They look like water beads- the scented kinds you'd get at the store to freshen up your house- only a little more ovaline and bearing tiny seeds within them. Some are doing that thing the bush from before was doing, bearing kaleidoscope shades of yellow, green, and orange.

Once you've managed to somewhat relax your panicked state and checked your leg to see that it's still there and reacting to your nervous system (regardless of the searing pain), you struggle to roll onto your knees to stand up. Pain blossoms at the back of your right thigh, and your leg gives away to the tormenting throb, rolling over and out of what you then notice to be a patch of fluffy yellow flowers, all bearing the same sticky seeds currently stuck to your body. 

You're traumatized. You don't want to continue on ahead to find that hum. It's still audible, loud and clear like music. It's not worth all this pain you've just experienced- this pain you're _still_ experiencing. Just what the hell are you even going to get out of this? You still don't know _why_ you're trying to find the source of the hum.

_"...Hee hee~!"_

Your head snaps up towards the dark alcove ahead of you, one that you hadn't noticed until you heard that barely audible sound of gleeful child-like laughter through the hum, echoing past the dark arches leading further into the depths of the underground. Someone laughing? It sounds like a child, but something is not right about it... It's almost malicious.

Asgore told the media that there was nothing down here. He _said so._  Did he lie? ...Is this why Asgore wouldn't want anyone to come down here? Why some people didn't come back?

Realizing this, an attempt to scramble on your legs to run and hide only results in clumsily rolling over to your side again when pain spikes down your leg.

_"Hello~? Is somebody there...?"_ The voice echoes from the darkness as you cover your mouth to silence your pitiful whimpers.

You can barely move your leg without that horrible pain... But you know you're not getting going to get any lucky breaks sitting there where everyone passing can see you.

You pull yourself together and bite your tongue as you summon all your determination to roll your body off of the flower patch and into the surrounding shadows. There's a small indent in the wall to the back of the pit where you eventually begin to drag yourself towards, a trail of dark liquid following your leg as you drag it along through the pain with as much effort as you can possibly muster.

Once you're huddled in the little indent, you curl up and hold your breath. Your heart is thumping rapidly in your ribcage as you listen past the humming for any more talking.

_..._

_"Oh, what have we here? Blood~! Must be a... Human."_

You close your eyes and bury your face in your knees. There's no hope. You were done for the moment that vine caught your leg.

_Just get it over with...!_  You think, waiting for whatever it is to find you and extract you from your pathetic hiding spot.

 

_...Silence._

 

Something brushes against the back of you neck, dragging pointed thorns over the delicate, throbbing cut you nearly forgot you'd gotten over the intense pain of your right leg. Your body stiffens up, but you only curl up tighter into yourself when it proceeds to curl under your neck to cup your chin and pull it up. Tears continue to run down you cheeks, but you don't open your eyes at all. Any moment now...

 

...

 

...

 

A voice whispers by the wing of your ear- exhaling a warm breath against the contrasting cold skin of your face. 

_"...Why are you hiding, human?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhmmmm, I went all out trying to make this chapter satisfying for you guys, but somehow I'm still not sure it came out as well as I wanted it to. I'll make sure to make the next one even better, I promise! 
> 
> *Determination Activated*
> 
>  
> 
> Linkses~:  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)


	30. A Burst of Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Searching high and low for you, Sans and Papyrus come across a bit of a mess! As for you... Well, let's just say you ought to not trust strangers so easily, eh? ;3

 Chapter 30: A Burst of Color

  

"...Yes, and you're certain you do no recall a friend by the name Miss Hu- I mean, _(Name)_ , Alphys? ...No? Very well... I will get back to you at a later time, Alphys. Good Night," Papyrus says through his cellular phone before pulling it away from his skull with a despondent expression of concern etched across his skeletal features. Looking down one more time at the screen reading Alphys' contact card, Papyrus releases a frustrated sigh and reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose-hole. "Brother... It appears that Alphys does not have a clue as to who Miss Human is either."

Sans tightens his grip on the steering wheel to Papyrus' Ferrari, clicking his teeth and narrowing his eye lights on the road ahead at the unsatisfactory news. So that's three people that can recall who you are- himself, Papyrus, and whoever this friend of Asgore's is.

...But already the count of those who've appeared to have _forgotten_ you is nearly twice as high. So far, from the calls Sans has been having Papyrus make, those that have forgotten your damn near existence so far are Undyne (duh), Alphys, Greater Dog (according to Alphys), Betsy Bunswick, Burgerpants, and even _King Asgore_ himself. 

Of course, Sans leaves all the calling to his brother, because _who_ would yell at sweet Papyrus for calling in the AM? No one.

...Well, okay, Burgerpants totally chewed off Paps' head when he called him- and Undyne would no doubt do the same if she were on the receiving end of a call at this hour, but that's besides the point. Burgerpants is always a **sour puss** (ok, totally not the time for jokes), and Undyne is wide awake right now anyways. Either way, things are _not_ looking good so far on your whereabouts either...

"Call Alan," Sans says, just as he pulls over into the street he last saw you at. The place where you vanished between the alleys- and then promptly out of existence.

Papyrus raises a browbone of surprise when Sans wastes no time in throwing the car into park and hops out, already making a beeline for the alley with Papyrus fumbling for the phone and the handle out of the car. Sans is already halfway to the entrance of the alley when Papyrus races to his side, searching to Alan's contact card on his phone.

_I should have stayed..._  Sans scolds himself regretfully, unaware of the expression of astonishment written all over his taller brother's face.

"Sans, are you quite alright? You appear to be very concerned for Miss Human..." Papyrus observes as he locates Alan's number and hits the call button. At Papyrus' words, Sans only huffs in disbelief, still completely focused on the alley way they are entering. He is slightly out of breath from forcing himself to physically move around so much today, more so than he's ever done in the past. Sans is mildly impressed that he still has the stamina to keep moving, but doesn't question it much. It's likely something akin to that burst of "adrenaline" Frisk says they get when they describe that they are "filled with determination".

"What are you talking about, bro? She's missing, _of course,_ I'm worried! What if she's gotten snatched off the street or something? What if something serious having to do with magic happened and she hurt herself? No one but you, myself, and this other lady Undyne's with even _remember_ her- it reeks of danger," Sans comments, causing Papyrus to scrunch his eye sockets down at his shorter brother suspiciously.

"Yes, but... I was under the impression you did not like her _at all."_

Sans finally turns to look up at Papyrus, eye lights narrowing right back on him until he fully registers what his brother has just pointed out regarding his behavior. Naturally, Sans is thrown off his groove and struggles to figure out what to say in response to such a blunt query. "Wha-? I, uh..."

Thankfully, Papyrus attention and gaze shifts ahead of them when a little buzzing escapes the phone pressed against the side of his skull, causing Sans to exhale with subtle releif. Good, now he has a chance to think of how to answer his brother carefully _without_ making it sound all weird and stalker-like...

_"H-hull-oh...?"_ A voice on the line groggily responds, followed by a soft meow somewhere in the background.

"Yes, Sir Human? This is the Great Papyrus speaking, I have a very odd question I must ask you- but do you remember who (Name) is? A lovely young human female who ought to smile far more often than she allows herself to?" Papyrus doesn't waste time in asking, while Sans mentally runs through several different responses he can give the tall skeleton once he gets off the call and proceeds with interrogating him.

The sound of Alan making an unintelligible sleepy sound of confusion makes Papyrus raise a brow bone, but he speaks up before the skeleton can ask anything else. 

_"Sorry... Just sleeping... Who were we talking about again?"_ He asks, voice sounding just a bit clearer than before.

"Sir Human, I was inquiring if you remembered a lovely human lady named (Name). Surely you have not lost all recollection of her adorable attitude and shyness, have you?" Papyrus asks hopefully, while Sans walks on ahead to look down several separate forked paths from the main alley they are walking.

Sure, Sans could probably just teleport everywhere like crazy- but that will likely drain his magic to dangerous levels. By dangerous levels, that doesn't just count the use of magic past physical limits, but even just being left with a low amount of magic in _general._ What if you _are_ in trouble and Papyrus needs backup to deal with whatever has caused the problem? He doesn't tend to use his gaster blasters or bone magic often in front of his brother, usually out of laziness, but he'll be damned if he isn't prepared to use magic when it's necessary.

_"...No, I have no clue of who you're talking about. I'm sorry, Paps! Um... Is that all you wanted to ask? Is everything okay?"_  Alan inquires on the line, concern laced with his words as they reach Sans ear holes.

Sans humorlessly chuckles at the human's words- what a sweet human. No, everything is **not** okay. Thanks for ask...

... **?!**

"Er, yes, everything is fine, Sir Human. That was all! Thank you for being so understanding- In that case, I will let you return to your slumber. Sleep well, human!" Papyrus says with a strained grin.

_"W-wait a second, Paps-!"_ Alan tries to reel Papyrus back in, until the tall skeleton quickly ends the call with a light stab of guilt. No need dragging the nice human into this- especially if he's been afflicted by the same thing that Undyne and a few others are experiencing. How can he find someone he's forgotten, after all?

Papyrus, wearing a discouraged frown, looks ahead towards the mouth of an alley where Sans stands stock still, the short skeleton's eye sockets wide and eye lights constricted to two small pin pricks. Quickly sensing the abnormal behavior of his brother, Papyrus strides over towards Sans, brow bones creased with more concern. "Sans? Sans, what is...?"

Before Papyrus can even finish his sentence, he spot what has caused Sans to freeze and his legs stop dead in their tracks.

Since they're standing atop a steep part of the alley, looking down at the mess, they can both see everything relatively clearly. Among the mess and chaos they see, the first thing that catches Sans' attention is the excess of water spraying everywhere from the corner of the open space between the surrounding buildings. Eventually, he registers the two bodies standing together at the opposite corner of the water mess and tinkering with a single smartphone for whatever reason, which lights up their faces from the device's screen.

_They must be calling someone for help, but what happened to cause all that water and...?_  Sans wonders, before moving to walk down the steep hill, leaving his brother to follow close behind in confusion.

**"Hey,"** Sans barks out to the two humans with a rather out of character tone, prompting Papyrus to shoot the back of his skull a surprised look. Before Sans can demand that they state what's going on and if they saw or did anything to you, Papyrus quickly bounds ahead of him to speak before his moody brother can say anything problematic.

"GREETINGS, HUMANS!" Papyrus blurts out as he approaches, unaware of the brow bone Sans raises behind him once his brother strides on ahead to the humans. "A fine night it is tonight, is it not? Are you two in need of any assistaaa...  _aaaa..._  Oh dear..." Papyrus trails off, tone bordering on that of horror and sympathy as he stops beside the shorter humans, able to see over their heads at what lays behind them. Confusion swims about within Sans' skull.

One of the humans has bloodshot eyes that looks to have been caused by constant crying- which is still going on as he looks up at Papyrus with his friend- another male human with an unsightly swollen black eye and a split lip. Of course, Sans immediately thinks Papyrus' tone has changed due to seeing the states of these humans, but that all changes when he notices something dark and splattered through the spaces between the humans' bodies and his brother's. 

Sans is not at all comforted at the sight, and his walking speeds up immediately when horrible scenarios and assumptions begin forming in his mind.

_Is that you...?_

Before Papyrus can stop him to warn his brother of the ghastly scene, Sans already has rounded the trio and spots what lays on the ground behind them. His soul constricts violently when he sees the human corpse and the burst of red that colors his vision- causing flashes and memories of a time that never truly happened.

_Blood and bone, muscle and tissue... Sliced off pieces of flesh from the small body of a child determined to put an end to both humans and monsters alike. For the simple, illogical reason as to the fact that they simply **could.**_

Sans' head rings as he stares at the splatters of blood and the sinews of muscle and vessels from the torn flesh around the neck of the body. His bones slightly rattle, already assuming the worst. The face of the body... Gone. Imploded. The areas where the eyes should have been are now closer together- and one eye, opened slightly, looks to have popped entirely within the socket. Blood still continues to bubble up in the dip of the face where the mouth and nose ought to have been. 

The death of a human is a stark contrast compared to the death of a monster. Monsters turn to dust, and although devastating to the souls of those that continue living, it's how all monster bodies go. There's nothing left but the dust itself- no body, no total mess...

Human bodies on the other hand... They're solid. Made of water and meat. Sans knows better than most monsters about how it feels to kill a human... The feeling of grime and stickiness one is unable to wash off no matter how hard they try to scrub. The feeling of the liquid spraying over one's body unexpectedly after a strike of mortal damage to a human's soft fleshy form.

It doesn't go away. 

...

It still hasn't gone away. 

"SANS!" 

Sans shakes himself out of his thoughts to find Papyrus standing in front of him, gloved hands placed on either of his shoulders to try and rouse Sans from his red memories. Confused by his brother's sudden appearance, Sans seems to remember where he is and moves to go around Papyrus and see the body again- this time to identify it properly. What if that body is you?

_"No,_ Sans, that's enough. It's not Miss Human, I can promise you that," Papyrus says to save Sans the struggle of looking at the body again. "The humans have already called the authorities and they will be here soon. I have inquired about Miss Human, but they are unaware of who we speak of as well. They did suggest that we ought to leave if we want to keep searching for her, lest the police keep us here to question us as well."

Sans seems to absorb this information a little slower than before, but eventually grunts and nods to his brother in understanding. Rather than let him walk on his own, Papyrus swiftly and skillfully turns Sans around on his axis, completely lifting him up and striding down a random alley once his brother is facing the opposite direction of the accident. Sans just lazily allows Papyrus to haul him down a separate alley, biting his lower mouth ridge in thought.

_There was an accident down this alley system- which she_ no doubt _walked down and where I left her- and now she's missing? And nobody remembers her? This is all just a little too coincidental... Something is definitely happening here... What happened to the lights that were leading her away? What's going on?_

"...Brother, that body is the body of the other human Miss Human was housing when I picked her up from her home," Papyrus says after an extended amount of silence, causing Sans to release his mouth ridge from between his teeth to look up at Papyrus in alarm. 

"What? You mean..." Sans trails off as he registers this new information. Okay, maybe he was unsure before, but now he's _definitely_ sure you've got some kind of involvement in this strange accident now. So now the big question... Did something happen to you as well? Something as bad as...?

Sans scrambles to get out of Papyrus' arms, bad memories overridden by the need to make sure you haven't hurt yourself or anything.

"We need to get moving," Sans says, planting his feet on the ground and holding on to Papyrus' arm tightly. It isn't until Papyrus stops walking and lets out a loud "NYEH!" that Sans flinches and stops his attempts to fall in step with his taller brother. "What? What is it?"

Papyrus turns to face Sans, jaw opened wide and eye sockets as wide as dinner plates. Rather than answer him, Papyrus soon turns the same expression towards a different direction, beginning to bounce on his heels and causing the poof at the end of his nightcap to swing with his movements. "Sans! Sans, this is it!" Papyrus exclaims, appearing to grow in rising energy as he turns to fully face a certain direction.

"...What?" Sans just asks, entirely confused by Papyrus' display and behavior. All the while, he can't help but wonder how his brother can take something like the sight of human gore so well. Sans himself is still rattling in a few places- mostly his rib cage. Papyrus, however, looks like he didn't even see the same thing Sans saw.

_It's probably because he hasn't killed a human like you have before,_  a rotten voice speaks up from the back of his mind. Rather than let it drag him down, Sans continues to stare and wait for Papyrus to elaborate.

"She's okay! I can feel it!" Papyrus explains, a big smile appearing across his features as he faces his brother once more. Sans raises a brow bone of skepticism. 

"Paps, I know you're trying to stay positive and everything, but maybe we should keep mov-" Sans starts, causing Papyrus to shake his head rapidly and point in the direction he was once looking towards.

"NO, Sans! That's not what I mean, I am saying I can _literally feel it!_  It's SOUL FORCE! Miss Human and I have achieved soul force as well!" Papyrus blurts out even louder, right before grabbing his wide eyed brother by his shoulders and tossing him around so he rests piggy back style behind Papyrus. "ONWARDS! Miss Human is _that way!"_

Hanging behind Papyrus like a backpack, Sans looks back one more time down the alley the two of them came from. They're too far away to see any details- not to mention that although they can see just a bit better in the dark than humans can, there's still not enough light to make out anything more than the soft glow of the phone those boys were using. All the while, Sans can't help but let his mind wander. Papyrus says you're okay... But the fact that he's making a beeline out of the alleys means that you've gotten a lot farther on foot than normal. Why would you stray so far from the house? What happened that caused you to run away? What even happened to that girl you were comforting hours before your date with Papyrus

"Did those kids tell you what happened to (Name)'s friend?" Sans asks, watching as his brother nods his head and jogs in the direction he senses your soul.

"Apparently, those gentlemen were inebriated and attempted to push their truck up that steep hill where we came from. Gravity, however, bested the duo, and hit a fire hydrant that ended up... Well... I'm sure you can piece together that puzzle yourself," Papyrus answers, his tone dropping at the return to the morbid topic. His pace slows a smidgen, but Sans mind is elsewhere.

...Sans is too curious. He has to know how Papyrus is handling everything so well- he knows his brother is cool, but this is _by_ _far_ the most control he's ever seen Papyrus exercise. 

"Aren't you rattled by what you saw? I mean... We just saw a..." Sans can't even bring himself to finish his sentence, and feels a bit embarrassed both because of his uneasiness with the sight and the fact that Papyrus, his cheerful brother, has taken it better than _he_ has.

"You think I am not? I am simply focusing on a different matter to ease my mind. I want to find Miss Human and make sure my bestie is safe, is all. That does not mean I am immune to the sight of Madame Human's horrible accident. She was very nice to me when I arrived at Miss Human's abode... She would have made a wonderful friend," Papyrus says with a tone of despondence as he thinks about what _could_ have been, eye sockets staring far off ahead of them as he slows to a complete stop. His eye sockets shift to something nonexistent on the ground, but whatever he's thinking about, Sans can only wonder.

The short skeleton's face falls as he watches the expressions of hurt and pity flash across his brother's face. He hadn't realized his brother _met_ the human in your place, and didn't mean to open any wounds... "So you met her?" He asks sympathetically, earning a quiet nod from his brother that prompts Sans to pat his shoulder comfortingly.

"...Briefly." 

Sans is well aware of how quickly Papyrus attaches with others, and sighs to himself sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Pap... I'm sure her soul's in a better place now though. You know those humans- they've got strong souls."

Papyrus nods and swallows with his nonexistent throat, before straightening up his back and clearing his throat. "Yes, indeed they do. Let us carry on then. Miss Human needs us!" Papyrus says, energy revitalized with the change in topic.

Sans clings to his brother's shoulders when Papyrus speeds up to a comfortable jog once more. As soon as they break out of the buildings of the city, the tall skeleton halts and lets out a garble of unintelligible words. Unlike before, since Sans can see exactly why his brother has done this, Sans does not question his brother's reaction. He has no need to ask what's got him worked up this time.

"...Oh shit," Sans curses, staring up at the tall mountain straight ahead of them with wide eye sockets, right before Papyrus continues on ahead wordlessly, this time double the speed of his original jog.

_Please tell me she didn't..._  Sans thinks to himself.

His phalanges knot into Papyrus' scarf a smidgen tighter.

* * *

  
It's funny how quickly things can go from being so wonderful, to becoming a hellish nightmare straight out of the underworld in mere seconds.

"Come on, don't be shy! Look at me, I'm not scary!" The voice says by your face, but all you can do is resist the urge to continue crying. It's no use though- tears fall against your will before this voice even finishes their sentence.

Your leg hurts... Something beyond your understanding just tried to _kill_ you (you know this by the subtle sting behind your neck and the memory of the scalding whip that sent you falling down in the first place)... And you just wish you never trusted Gaster.

Help? This is what they think help is, huh? This isn't helpful _at all._  You're suffering because of their pleas to get to this stupid hum. Walking will just screw up your leg even more- if you can _even_ achieve walking in the first place. You're going to die down here, you're sure of it- and _you don't want to die._

The ugly image of Halley's imploded face flashes in your mind, and you curl up into yourself even more, cringing away from the vine that cradles your chin. 

_Leave me alone._

"You poor, pitiful, creature... Look, I'll even _help_ you, how's that sound?"

Your body jerks uneasily when vines suddenly begin wrapping around your waist and torso. Confused and traumatized, you finally open your eyes to see what is going on. Of course, the sight of vines beginning to coil rapidly around your body sends stress signals flooding your already overwhelmed mind, and you make a small noise of hopeless fear. Rather than just let them, however, you struggle to untangle the vines as they wrap around your good leg and press their small thorns into your sensitive skin.

"Don't whine, you'll _thank_ _me_ for this later! Let me do this for you~!" The voice insists, no longer sounding as cheerful or childish as before. Now it sounds a little... _Malignant_.

"L-let go!" You force yourself to bark with a bit of venom, swatting at a vine that is tightening around your upper left arm painfully. A hiss of pain escapes you as the thorns press into the skin under your bicep- poking and prodding at the bundle of sensitive veins and nerves.

_"Hehe~!_  Human, why are you trembling? I'm not going to _hurt_ you, I promise! We're just going to take a little... A little  _walk!_ Deeper into the mountain... You know? To get to _know_ each other!" The voice comments with dark cheerfulness, setting you on edge even more than before. Who is this? A monster?

You sharply inhale at the face that appears from over your head, staring at you only a few inches away upside down with a big, friendly smile.

It's... It's a yellow flower. Except with a face...?  

Your body, upon seeing this unexpectedly small creature, starts to relax at their welcoming expression of friendliness. They don't look like a threat... They actually look kind of cute. It's small, about the size of maybe a cat or small dog. As your bawling begins to calm down, they smile a little wider. Honestly? You feel a little better seeing this flower. A bright, friendly face after the hell you just went through?

Who _wouldn't_ feel a smidgen better? You're not okay, not in the least, but... You don't feel at a total loss anymore. You're not alone.

...

The flower's smile remains unmoving as they observe the features of your face upside down, cocking their head slightly to the side. You do the same, and a strange feeling of uneasiness settles in your gut as you stare back. You're sniffling a little, but your crying has completely halted. Why is this flower staring at you? What did it say it wanted? To go for a walk deeper into the...

The words register in your brain and you stiffen up, eyes narrowing on the flower nervously when it seems to realize you've sensed something odd about their words. 

Before you can say anything or _do_ anything else, the flower's smile becomes a huge grin, bearing hundreds of sharp jagged teeth that give it a demonic look. You blanch with reinvigorated terror, nails sinking in defensively into the closest vine at the sight.

"Human, haven't you heard?" 

A vine coils around your neck and a earbleeding squeal of pain is cut off just as it begins, silencing you before you release a glass breaking screech. Thorns cut into your collar, as the vine wraps around in two layers, beginning to squeeze the life out of you. Naturally, you try to reach up to untangle the vine manually, but different vines ensnare your wrists and pin them behind you painfully- cracking a few bones in your arms.

_You're naive,_  your pessimistic voice states in the dark recesses of your mind. _Yeah right, a smiling flower in the mountain where no one is allowed to re-enter? Friendly? You should know better than to go trusting something as sketchy as that, you stupid girl._

"In this world..." The flower starts as if reciting some kind of favorite mantra, chuckling when you violently wriggle your body to try and shake the vines off. Your leg flashes with pain, and you stop several times, but the amount of strength your displaying _is_ rather impressive for a human. "It's kill or _**be** _ ki-!"

The sound of something splattering loudly against the flower patch behind you makes you flinch and freeze, the vines around you halting in their movements at the same time. Your attention is now focused on the sound and the expression of confusion across the upside down flower's face as it's features revert back to the sweet looking flower you first met. With an scowl, the flower flips it's face upright to stare at the flower patch behind you, eyes leering dangerously at whatever has appeared.

You cough and struggle to inhale through the small amount of space the flower has allowed you in your air ways. What is it? What made this flower freeze?

The flower looks back at your face in growing bewilderment, appearing to observe every little part of your face before, surprisingly, releasing their grip around your throat. You cough and sputter for air, wrists released to nurse the small red dots at your neck where their thorns previously sunk into.  

"Who are _you?_ How are you down here?" The flower suddenly demands. You're scared and confused, but just as you look up with an answer prepared at your lips, you realize the flower isn't even _looking_ at you. It's looking behind you still. Is it not talking to you?

You want to turn your head, but Gaster's warnings flash in your mind. It seems like this flower has no trouble staring at it, but from what you can see of the vines around you, all unused plant tendrils are sinking back into the earth- like they're being reserved for a different purpose. As for the flower's query, there is no response from whatever is behind you, but you continue to hear the sound of soft splats getting closer and closer. Your spine tingles with the need to shield yourself.

"...Hey, quit that, it's gross. Ugh, you slime ones are _always_ so-!"The flower starts to complain, their expression that of disgust before it suddenly transforms into a look of alarm.

Next thing you know, your body is being tossed upwards. You let out a startled cry as your leg throbs in objection to the movement, but as soon as your body is caught in more vines and you convince yourself to ignore the agonizing pain, you find yourself dangling along the ceiling once more. The vines around your waist and good leg are secured tightly to ensure safety- enough that you won't slip, but not enough to hurt you.

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" The flower complains somewhere to your left in an irritated tone of dissatisfaction. You immediately search for them, and find their stem sprouting from atop the rocky cavern. How they are able to do that when it's rock and _not_ soil, you've no clue. Magic, yes, but... 

A quick glimpse behind you and you see the base of the vines that are keeping you suspended in the air beside the flower monster. Although you were fighting them before, you don't dare try the same up in the air. You don't want to fall again- one drop is enough for you to go through tonight.

"...Wait a minute... You're not a monster," the flower observes, before their expression (which you are watching rather than letting curiosity direct your attention to whatever is below) switches to frustration and their petals close around their face. As they sink into the rock of the cave's ceiling, you're tossed around more- this time towards the archway leading deeper into the mountain. Sensing your lack of control in the situation, you fall silent and simply wince and hiccup as your body is moved from vine to vine, other thorned tendrils whipping past you and towards the creature following you.

You can't fathom why this flower- which was initially trying to strangle you to death- is now tossing you to safety, but choose not to dwell on it now. What you need to be doing is finding an opening for escape.

_Yeah? And then what? Gonna peg-leg your way through the underground, or what?_  The voice of reason sasses, causing your face to fall as your body stops being tossed around, leaving you suspended and splayed out stomach down over a very old and dustly looking area of what appears to be a well designed ruin-like area. There are pathways carved of purple amethyst and stones of lavender and gray colors alike, giving the place a rather beautiful look despite your situation.

_Yeah. Then what._

You slump in the grip of the vines. This is hopeless...

... _Amethyst...?_  You suddenly realize, looking around once more as you allow yourself to absorb the color of purple around you. Shades of violet flood your retinas as you look around, and the place gives your eyes that same kaleidoscope vision once more. Why so much color here? What do these weird moving colors on things even mean?

Slapping a hand against your throbbing face, you let out a groan of annoyance. Why does thinking about this give you such a _headache?_

"... _Eeep!"_  You squeak as you're dropped from the vines unceremoniously, landing with a splash in a shallow water duct that you only submerge into for five feet or so before feeling the water pushing your body through a exit duct. Initially, you panic as the open area of air vanishes and your body is taken down this narrow tunnel of pure water with no room for breathable air. An attempt to push yourself back out fails with your worthless leg as pain flashes up your thigh and... 

...Wait...

_It doesn't hurt that much anymore! Is this...?_

You wiggle your injured leg, pleased to find that the pain is beginning to subside- little by little. Like wise, the stinging of the open wounds in your neck has settled immediately, and you touch your throat as you're continuously propelled through the duct. You're waiting for the feeling of your lungs needing to burst- like Libby used to describe to you in the past whenever she asked you to time how long she could stay under. Personally, you never had done that- only because you were always scared of drowning yourself as a kid. Of course, it's a stupid worry, considering you'd never actually be able to do that lest you tied something to force you to sink and _stay_ sunken.

...Your lungs do not painfully cringe with the need for air.

You eventually find yourself coming out of a separate duct and quickly jump out and grab the side of the amethyst rock to pull yourself out of the water. What was once an awful, tear inducing pain of horrible proportions is now a sore throb that you can more or less shrug off as you whip your hips up over the rock with your wonderful elasticity and carefully stand up. A quick glance down at your water soaked legs and your eyebrows rise in surprise. You sniffle and examine yourself quickly for the small indents of blood that the flower monster's vines had caused from before, but for the most part, they are all _gone._

_Everything_ is gone!

Raising your good leg, you hop on your once ruined leg and make a face of disbelief when it makes no objection to your movement.

You weren't dreaming that night Undyne pulled you out of the water. You really _had_ undergone some strange healing in the water. Is that why you were able to sit outside of that area with the knife in your back like it was nothing? Did the injury heal around the damn blade? What the...?

_This is so weird...! Does this mean I have magic? Like- REAL magic? Not just some future sight?!_  You wonder, before a rumble of stones falling far behind from an archway to your left makes you snap out of your thoughts and snap your head in the direction of the sound.

"No time to wonder- I'll ask questions later," you mutter to yourself as you start jogging towards the opposite archway and towards the continuing hum far away, if only to comfort yourself since it appears no one else will hear you in this place...

* * *

 

_You called for help._

 

_..._

 

_...And your friends are on their way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than I intended, but HEY, IT'S STILL FRIDAY~! :D
> 
> I have one last midterm to deal with next Tuesday, so that's gonna be fun TmT As soon as that's over, I'm home freeee~ <3
> 
> :D I have a Ko-Fi account too now! So if you wanna get me a coffee... Well, that's up to you. You don't have to because this story is going to remain free for you reading pleasure 100%, but if you want, it's there. Also, if you've got financial problems, I implore you to save your money! Because the last thing I want is for anyone to give away something they need. TwT I love you guys so much, you have no idea~
> 
> I do better in school because of you lovely lot <33
> 
>  
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Support me with a Cup of Joe? :3 (I promise the link works now)](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)


	31. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the monsters/creatures reach you, and the fun commences. Meanwhile, Sans and Papyrus finally cross paths with Undyne and Druella, but...! What's up with Undyne?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Screaming*

 Chapter 31: Falling

   

You're leaving a very noticeable trail of water behind you as you carefully jog through the amethyst corridors of the Underground, not going as fast as you truly desire to go due to the fact that the water on your body nearly made you slip  along the smooth rock beneath your feet. Most of you is awed at the amount of amethyst that makes up these ruins- enough to create such a beautiful violet and lavender shade (despite the fact that it has color to begin with). Both your legs are working as good as new- as if one hadn't nearly been dismembered from your body minutes earlier.

At one point, while passing a table with a rather carefully sliced piece of cheese with a few nibbles taken off the top, you lost yourself to your thoughts once more. You're still shaken from everything that happened earlier- the creature you didn't see, falling in a pit and snapping your hamstring, meeting that psychopathic flower and nearly being strangled to death... 

It's no wonder Asgore banned everyone- humans and monsters alike- from returning down here.

You yourself wished you hadn't been so stupid. Follow the _lights._  Follow the _hum._  Why not jump off a building if Gaster suggests it too?

"...Stupid..." You mumble to yourself, absentmindedly pressing your fingers into the back of your thigh when you feel a ghost of the no longer present pain. It doesn't hurt- but thinking about what you felt before makes feel like it's throbbing, even though it actually isn't.

At this point, you're questioning whether you should still be looking for the ongoing hum, which hasn't stopped since you first started hearing it outside of the mountain. It echoes around you, and you can tell it's a lot farther than you've anticipated. How deep does the Underground go anyways? What made up the remainder of the monster species had been all stuck down here... In _this_ place. Overpopulation must have been a big issue, you're sure of that much...

...Come to think of it, didn't you overhear someone talking about how they got down here in the first place? Something about a war over the fact that monsters have the ability to absorb a human soul and gain unlimited power, or some bogus thing like that...? Personally, you don't believe something like that is possible. Seems like complete _hokey._  If they could do that, why didn't they do that during the war? They could have won and everything.

_"In this world, it's kill or be killed."_

You squeak when you nearly slip from the water soaking your shoes, and with an irritated huff, you jerk your body at an angle to keep from face planting into the ground. The potential slip has snapped you out of your musings, and you exhale a shakey breath of relief. Besides that close call though, what in the world are you _thinking?_  It's not like you to think about something as morbid as "power and elimination equals victory". No, maybe the humans should have _talked_ to the monsters to sort things out- instead of diving headfirst into war.

You allow the moment of alarm to subside as you pass over a small pile of leaves and reach a split path. Ahead of you is a room you can just barely see into, and to the left is a doorway to another path.

_There's not a lot of time, I need to move faster than this,_ you think, before shooting your feet a dubious look of suspicion. Hopefully you aren't too careless and end up slipping again...

Jogging towards the first path ahead, you come to a sudden stop when you notice it's a dead end- an entry way to a single little room where not only are the amethyst walls decrepid, but so are the spider webs. Broken bits of spider silk tickle your face when you stop, and you swipe at your face to remove them with little success. After a few swipes, you only manage to get more bits of webs tangled with your clothing. It's then that you suddenly stop when you find your gaze dragging itself down to something stuck in a few of the webs on the ground, distracting you enough to make you lean down and squint a bit to make sure you haven't suddenly gotten some of the spider silk in your eyes. 

You haven't.

But _any_ sane person would question reality if they found a sprinkled pink frosted doughnut and an old flyer for a "Spider Bake Sale" conveniently angled towards the entry way where anyone entering will see it.

You cock your head to the side at it's appearance, which you notice looks oddly... _Fresh,_ despite the monster's mass migration to the surface nearly four months ago. Why hasn't it decomposed yet? Surely bacteria exists in the underground- monster's couldn't have been cut off from the surface severely enough to have avoid things like _that._

**SHHHFFF...**

Your eyes widen at the subtle sound of shuffling and you freeze like a deer caught in headlights. You stand stock still in front of the doorway for a full second before regaining some semblance of logic and rushing to the side of the room where anyone passing can't see you without physically entering. Rather than continue freaking out, you force yourself to retain lucidity and listen carefully for whatever has just appeared somewhere down the area from where you came. 

Curiosity floods your senses and you claw your fingernails against the sides of your pants, knotting your fingers in the fabric to relax your tense nerves. You want to look. You want to see where it is, at _least._  You can just... not look directly _at_ it, right? Maybe you can look at something so you can see the creature in your peripherals...

With a soft inhale of air to settle your anxiety, you lower yourself down slowly onto your knees and quietly shuffle towards the side of the doorway, listening carefully for any sign that the creature the flower monster was fighting is closer than anticipated. Or whether it's even the creature to begin with. For all you know, it's that manic flower searching to finish strangling the life out of you like a python.

_I wonder which one won..._

One last push of bravery prompts you to peer around the doorway and into the hall, where you see...

...

...?

Nothing?

You blink with a puzzled expression of surprise written all across your features, brows creasing down the middle as your eyes jump in all directions searching for it. You're not going to risk poking your head out even more, this is as far as you're willing to let yourself peek. No matter where you irises land, however, nothing appears out of the ordinary from when you first came through.

_Where is it?_  Which _is it?_  You wonder, before your anxiety begins to double in your mind.

Somehow, not knowing where the creature may be is even more nerve wracking than when you thought it was behind you. How can you hide or avoid something you can't see? 

_Should I make a run for it?_  You think, biting your lip as you continue to scan the outside with wide eyes. There's something eerie about the silence of these ruins here in the underground that unsettles you... If you hadn't seen that flower or heard that creature, you'd undoubtedly believe there was nobody here at all.

...

An odd feeling tickles your hyper aware senses, and your back arches in tension while your eyes widen with realization. You hadn't noticed it until then, and you can't help but stiffen up when you finally connect the dots. You feel like you're about to emotionally unravel at the seams when you realize you've been thrust back at square one.

 

 

 

_Something is breathing against the back of your neck._

* * *

"...You know, you're pretty hardcore for a human!" Undyne barks brightly as Druella easily pulls herself over a ledge, swinging a leg up at a surprising angle that makes Undyne's head itch at the back. Somehow, Druella's flexibility reminds Undyne of something... But whatever that "something" is, Undyne appears to have forgotten. She's not stupid- clearly it must have something to do with this missing "Miss Human" Sans said she's been calling, "her bestie". Of course, there's no point grasping for straws- might as well reach for the more important things first. Eventually, she'll remember you, right?

Turning and holding a hand out to Undyne, Druella's expression is as apathetic as ever, but through her irises, Undyne spots a mild spark of amusement just barely shining through. Her bloodhound, Cynthia, is seated at her feet, jaws parted and tail still wagging with a delighted appearance. 

If it wasn't for her reply, Undyne would have thought the human was silently laughing at her.

"I know," Druella responds, causing Undyne to gawk for half a second before snorting loudly through her laughter. She doesn't waste time slapping her scaled hand in Druella's, allowing the human to help her up. Normally, Undyne wouldn't let _anyone_ help her up (well, maybe Alphys, since she's cute), but Druella? She's totally cool. Something about the girl makes Undyne respect her- either the way she holds herself or the fact that she does awesome things like cliff diving and working with sea animals down at the aquarium southbound from the city.

"Don't let it get to your head, pu... _Whoa,"_ Undyne trails off when the two turn around to continue, only to find a large pit leading down to the underground staring them in the face. Immediately, Undyne wonders how this got here... Until she makes a few mental connections with correlating information Frisk once gave her in regards to how they themselves fell into the underground. They said something about a hole in the ground, them leaning closer to look down and see what was there, and evidently tripping over a...

Just as Undyne has this thought, she notices Druella stepping closer to look down at the pit... And promptly pinwheel her arms when she loses her balance over something. 

"H-hey!" Undyne shouts, reaching despite her being out of arms length. Like a true loyal pooch, the bloodhound barks like a maniac and dives in after the human when Undyne does. The fish monster thinks she hears some other voices somewhere, but they're so subtle that it feels like a trick of the mind. Eventually, the voices become inaudible and Undyne finds herself landing face first with a grunt into a patch of something yellow, fluffy in a cushion-y way... and oddly sticky in a few places.

_Wait... These feel like-_  Undyne pushes up to see what she's landed on and lets out a soft curse of irritation. Yup. Golden flowers! Sticky seedlings and everything! Honestly, the flowers would be a _lot_ nicer if they didn't have such sticky seeds that grow with them. Undyne rolls off of the patch and nearly bumps into Cynthia, Druella's dog that is already up and walking around like it _hadn't_  just dropped a good fifteen or so feet into a dark pit. Hardcore as their owner, eh? 

"You alright?" Druella asks, the black-brown lace up boots she's wearing shining with reflected moonlight in Undyne's line of sight as the monster stands up and starts swatting off the sticky little orbs of seedlings. 

"Never better, punk!" Undyne says, but gives the human a look once she's got most of the seeds off. Druella hasn't swatted the orbs off of herself, lazily choosing to just walk around baring the seeds carelessly. "Probably shouldn't let the best of your curiosity get to you, yeah? That fall could have ended pretty ugly for both you and your guard dog!"

Druella has the sense to look a little chastised despite her usual composure and blushes a bit. "You're right. I'm sorry about that," she apologizes, causing Undyne to snort a little in amusement.

"Good to see you understand, and-" Undyne starts, until she hears something familiar a ways above them. Cynthia is sniffing the air wildly, moving around Druella's feet  and searching the air intently just above the golden flowers. Undyne herself would find curiosity in the behavior of the pooch if she weren't distracted, but she's _definitely_ positive she hears a voice somewhere. Is it coming from the top of the pit.

...

"You hear that, right? Or am I going crazy?" Undyne asks Druella, who nods in confirmation much to Undyne's satisfaction. So if she can hear it and Druella can hear it, then...? What the hell is it?

...

"...aps, _wait!"_

"GERONIMO, BROTHER!" 

** Pop!**

Standing from literally out of nowhere in the middle of the golden flower patch stands a tall skeleton with a shorter skeleton attached to their backside, the taller of the two wearing a look of unbridled excitement that soon diminishes once they spot Undyne, Cynthia, and Druella before them. Undyne's breath hitches in both alarm and the tell-tale feeling of being caught red handed. 

"...Brother, you have sullied what could have been a magnificent and stupefying entrance," Papyrus huffs, while Sans scrambles to jump off of Papyrus shoulders when he makes eye contact with Undyne. Before he can say anything Papyrus lunges forward for the fish monster with a look of surprise. "Undyne?! What are you doing _here?!"_

Likewise, Undyne is still completely flabbergasted by their appearance.

"What am _I_ doing here?! What are _you_ doing here?! I'm not here! I mean... It was HER idea!" Undyne babbles furiously, pointing at the rather nonchalant looking human currently plucking sticky seeds off of her happy ass dog. It's then that she realizes how infantile she is behaving and straightens up to confront the skeletal duo with a suspicious one-eyed leer. "Wait, how the hell did you two find me anyways? I didn't tell Sans where I was going!"

She turns her gold eye to glare at Sans, but much to her shock, he's already gone from where he previously stood. She swings around to find him, but Papyrus steps forward and catches her attention again. "It wasn't my intention to find you! I'm here following the breadcrumb trail of Miss Human with soul force!" Papyrus claims proudly, before his expression drops at the look of confusion crossing Undyne's face again. "Is it true you do not remember her...?"

"I don't..." Undyne explains, watching his face fall even more. At this, she quickly adds in, "But you know, nerd? I'm following a feeling of some sort too. It's why I'm down here in the first place! If you're here and I'm here... And we both have bonds with Miss Human via soul force, then maybe we can find some answers as to why I've suddenly forgotten her entire existence!" Undyne claims, before the sound of a bark catches them off guard.

"Hey! Easy!" Sans blurts out, standing close to the exit with his hands out towards Cynthia, who has crossed the distance to sniff invasively around his bony legs and crotch. Undyne can hardly hold a snort of laughter back as he is forced back against a wall, his expression that of both frustration and discomfort. Druella is a few steps behind the bloodhound though, and efficiently puts a halt to her dog's behavior by easily hoisting her up and carrying the energetic dog a step back.

Surface dogs sure are different from monster dogs...

It's then that Sans seems to register Druella's presence and looks up at her to give her a cautious glare, a single brow bone raised as if to ask who the heck she is. Rather than look intimidated or even make an effort to answer him, Druella stares him back in the eye... And then promptly turns around to look at Undyne and ask, "Which one is Papyrus and which one is Sans?"

Undyne jogs over to Druella's side in case Sans gets any bright ideas, throwing a warning glare his way. "He's-" She starts, until Papyrus cuts her off.

"NYEH?! Some humans can come with streaks of _pink?!_ " Papyrus blurts out in jubilant surprise as he strides past Undyne and closer to Druella, leaning in rather close to look at the pink streak tucked away in her high bun. Although Druella is very tall, she's still about a head shorter than Papyrus and just a few inches taller than Undyne herself. "And what a lovely pastel shade it is! By the by, you are rather tall for a female human... Are you attempting to join in the royal guard too?"

"...Never mind. I know which is which now," Druella says, with a lick of humor at the tip of her words as she moves to stand towards the doorway leading into the ruins of the underground. "We should probably keep moving." 

Undyne flicks here single gold eye towards Sans, gauging his reaction to learning that he'll be accompanied by this human that is a stranger to him. Of course, he scrunches his face up in mild displeasure, but keeps his mouth shut much to Undyne's satisfaction. Other than shoving his hands in his pockets and continuing to watch Druella carefully when she puts Cynthia down by the doorway, Sans does nothing else.

_Yeah, that nerd BETTER not try nothin' else,_  Undyne thinks, right as she turns to face Papyrus.

"Alright, punk! Where are _you_ getting the feeling from? I'm thinking it's pretty close- still in the ruins probably," Undyne states, getting to business and watching Papyrus finally turn away from staring at the tall human whispering something in her happily panting dog's ear. Upon facing Undyne, he seems to remember what they're there for and straightens up like the Royal Guard in Training he is.

"Indeed! I can't exactly determine just  _how_ close she is to us like you can... But I know she is approximately located ahead of us!" Papyrus reports with a salute, holding his head high. "I presume we should lead the way, in that ca-!"

"The human's leaving without us," Sans points out with a slight growl, causing both Undyne and Papyrus to snap their heads in the direction of the arched amethyst doorway leading into the ruins, Druella already walking off with Cynthia ahead of her a few steps.

_"Nyeh!_ Pink Human, you must wait for us! The underground is littered with an abundant amount of puzzles and japery, it is very dangerous for a squishy and soft human such as yourself! Even at your nearly magnificent height achievement!" Papyrus immediately panics, already racing after the human with long strides. Undyne raises a single brow of confusion as Papyrus hurries after the tall human, but evidently just rolls her single gold eye in good humor.

"...So that's Asgore's friend then? You didn't say anything about her being a human," Sans huffs as he falls into step with her, immediately causing Undyne's mood to dip with irritation. Sans seems to notice, and wisely rephrases. "Okay, well, I don't _really_ have a problem with her specie or anything. I'm just wondering what her busines is down here in the underground is. Can't blame me for askin', can you? I mean... _We're_ not even allowed back down here. Asgore would burst into streaks of dust if he found out what we were doing right now..."

Lucky for Sans, this calms Undyne's rising temper down, and she sighs heavily. She continues to watch the human and Papyrus ahead of herself, the tall skeleton appearing to speak, pose, and regard her animatedly as they are lead deeper into the ruins by Druella's bloodhound, the dog prompting the four to move quick. Druella must have that dog trained very well...

"She's looking for somebody, and apparently has told me she's refrained from checking down here despite her dog trying to lead her to the mountain. If there's a chance that the person she's looking for is somewhere down here, I want to help. She also said she'd be happy to help _me_ since she knows this human chick you and Paps were talking about," Undyne explains. Ahead, she sees Druella turn to say something to Papyrus, something that seems to abruptly shut up and straighten his spine to walk alongside her calm and collectedly... Well, somewhat. Undyne can still see his bones jittering in a few places, like something she's told him has only made his energy grow. Albeit, at least he's not jumping around her and posing anymore- which is good, since that might slow the group down in their search for you.

Sans bites down on his lower mouth ridge and looks over at Papyrus and Druella, as if contemplating Undyne's words and considering what she has to say.

"...What's this chick like? The missing human, I mean," Undyne huffs, feeling a repercussion of vexation at the fact that she can't remember the human. As she asks this, Sans seems to visibly relax, enough to tear his gaze away from his brother and Druella to look at something to the side. It's not something in the general area, more like something _distant._ Like a memory.

"Well... She was kind of a bitch at first," Sans puts bluntly, resulting in a loud burst of laughter from the fish monster beside him. At her laughter, Sans grins a little and a cheeky idea makes itself known in the back of his mind. "In fact, at one point that was actually true. I didn't like her and I totally locked her outside of your house on the night we met. Miss Human had to crawl in through the _doggy door."_

Undyne laughs even harder, enough that Papyrus and Druella are looking back to see what the ruckus is. Of course, Papyrus immediately starts speaking to Druella about it, waving a gloved hand as if to say, ignore them.

"Oh, do not mind those two, Pink Human. It may seem like Sans is making her laugh with his less than exemplary jokes, but _clearly_ Undyne is laughing because she can't believe he is still trying to show her his puns are funny," Papyrus explains to Druella, who hides a twitch of a smile at the corner of her lips. 

_"What?_  God, you're an ASS! That's freaking hilarious!" Undyne admits, before pausing in her heaving laughter to give him a look. "But you didn't try to _hurt_ her or anything... Right? No dunking on her?"

Sans cheekbones dust a barely visible shade of blue, but soon grows in vibrance as Undyne's expression turns into a piercing leer. With a strained smile, Sans adds, "Well... Not initially. I was just kind of screwing with her and took it a bit too far every now and then. I'm not doing that anymore though. I've snapped out of that mindset, and I don't want to upset her anymore. I wanna set things right," Sans replies, his tone growing confidence as he turns to look up at Undyne, meeting her eye directly. "That's why I'm here with Paps. To find her so that I don't lose my chance at repairing my screw up."

"...Oh," Undyne says, a little overwhelmed by the power and affirmation his tone holds when he reaches the end of his claim. Undyne can't argue that Sans appears to honestly _do_ want to patch things up with you, but... "...Man, no _wonder_  I said something this punk being your girlfriend!"

When Undyne starts laughing, Sans turns even bluer than before, loudly shushing her and slapping a hand over her mouth when they hears Papyrus call out to them from ahead. The short skeleton is visibly sweating bullets.

"Sans! What are you doing back there?!" Papyrus asks, leering at his brother suspiciously as they power walk. Sans just shakes his head and waves his brother off, looking even more flustered than before. 

"Nuthin'," he practically squeaks. Papyrus stares for a few seconds more, but eventually turns away again. At this point, Sans faces Undyne with two empty and dark sockets, the unfazed fish woman still laughing at him quietly. _"Don't bring that up again."_

Undyne just rolls her eye again, and swats his hand off of her mouth. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, Punk... Whatever. So what else can you tell me about her? You said in that text about someone telling you where she was and stuff before she disappeared?" Undyne inquires, causing Sans to relax and shake his blush off when she asks this.

"...Yeah, I said that," Sans confirms. The Captain of the Royal Guard opens her mouth to ask another question, but stops when Sans swallows and adds, "But I lied."

_"What?"_ Undyne faces him sharply, stopping in her tracks while Druella and Papyrus continue ahead with Cynthia- unaware of the two that have stopped behind them. Undyne's face borders that of bewilderment at this revelation, but Sans quickly elaborates to keep her from jumping to any conclusions.

"I was following her because I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to get into any trouble walking around late at night- but I noticed she started following these lights that were _literally_ leading her away from her house. Like, they even waited until she started following to lead her away," Sans quickly adds, which is enough to make Undyne hesitate as Sans talks a mile a minute. "I would have kept following, but I got a call from Papyrus that he wanted me home. Earlier, you and I... We were following Papyrus and (Name) around-" 

Undyne's gold eye flashes.

"Wait, did you say her name was... (Name)...?" Undyne asks, her head beginning to swim and strain uncomfortably.

"Huh? Yeah, her name's... Undyne? You okay?" Sans asks, watching as Undyne steps back from him to press a hand against her head.

"I'm... You're..." Undyne stammers, before suddenly pitching backwards and causing Sans to lunge forward in panic. She slumps to the ground like dead weight, and Sans curses as he struggles to keep her head from hitting the ground too hard. He single eye rolls back- something overloading her mind enough to affect her consciousness...

...And causing her to fall down.

* * *

 

_Move!_

You're frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Whatever is breathing behind you hasn't noticed that _you've_ noticed it. You still have the element of surprise- it's clearly waiting for you to notice them. 

_MOVE!_

You need to make a run for the other entrance in that last room. That means swinging around this doorway and taking a sharp right into the next area. It's probably going to chase you down... Are you fast enough to get away?

_MOVE ALREADY!!!_

You swallow thickly as you pretend to still be looking out into the hall, acting as if you can't feel the tickle of something just lightly brushing the back of your neck. Maybe you can't do this. Creatures like those two? They'll catch you before you even have the chance to utter a screa-

_**GET UP AND RUN,**_  a familiar static echoes in the back of your head, which surprises you enough to jump forward to your feet and proceed with your plan. It's too late to stop now- it's run or get run over at this point!

"GET BACK HERE, _HUMAN,"_ A familiar demonic voice drawls behind you rather theatrically, causing your heart to constrict anxiously. It's that crazy little flower, and it sounds like he's having a _ton_ of fun. Holy shit, you're going to die- you _cannot_ be lucky enough to escape this time- that would be three close calls in a fucking row...!

You charge straight into a large area and curse when you see a bunch of cracked areas of flooring and an impossible border of spikes ahead. Something sounds like it's keeping the flower at bay behind, but you flinch when you notice vines attempting to reach you by sprouting from the ground beneath your feet, growing quickly in your direction as you hustle towards the spikes at full speed. Someone like Frisk would probably have to try and find a way to deactivate those spikes, but you? Maybe... And this is risky as _hell._

Your legs pick up speed and just as you're a suitable distance from the spikes, you buckle you knees and put those crazy flexible muscles and tendons to work. With a graceful leap over the spikes, you land just barely on both feet with proper form- though unlike in performances in the past, you don't stop to bow. Reasonably, you continue high tailing it straight into the next area. You didn't get past those spikes without a small scratch at the back of your leg, but since it's minor, you ignore it. Let that wound throb- it means you're still _alive._

Exhaling heavily and perspiring a bit of sweat from exertion, you enter another puzzle area, where you are evidently met with a layout of three dolls and pillars along with a post of detailed instructions to complete this puzzle. 

You could probably jump these spikes too, but...

_**UNDER THE RED DOLL.**_

Your back practically arches with surprise, but you don't hesitate to run towards the worn doll, lifting it up and pulling this lever hidden beneath it. Like magic (cause it likely _is_ made of magic), the spikes audibly slide down ahead of you. You don't waste time running for the exit-

Only... It's not an exit.

The head seems to spin, and you find yourself looking in  the same damned room as before. With wide eyes, you look back over your shoulder... It's the same room? Why are there two rooms with the same puzzle here? Yeah, maybe the room has been altered a bit, but...

**_THE GREEN DOLL._**

You're starting to familiarize yourself with the sound of static, and although you're questioning Gaster profusely in your mind and looking around for them as you practically throw yourself at the green doll, they do not appear before you like they had before. 

Running into the next room at a slower pace- since it appears you've gotten ahead of the flower monster- you roll your eyes at the sight of the puzzle, leaning around to find all the dolls. They're all in the same places, but the room has once again changed in perspective.

_**BLUE.**_

It sounds like the static is getting weaker... For some reason, this slightly unnerves you. You can't help but be angry at yourself that you're concerned for them when they literally escorted you into danger. You don't want to feel worried for them. Being angry and not caring is easier...

With a flip of the switch under the blue doll, you pant and jog towards the exit out of the room. Your legs are burning, but at least one isn't missing altogether. Your heart is beating a mile a minute and sweat has built up from the enclosure of the ruins, causing your forehead to glisten and your underarms to unfortunately soak your shirt. You may be flexible as hell and dance a lot, but running is _so_ not your thing. 

Your legs come to a clumsy stop that nearly cause you to topple over when you are met with the sight of rather welcoming little home in the ruins... You're breathing too hard- so you force it to quiet as you listen for any signs of movement...

... 

... 

Other than your own loud breathing, it appears you're once again all alone. This is both comforting and completely awful at the same time.

Reaching into your pocket, you extract your phone and groan quietly when you find it soaked entirely. This thing isn't one of those cool waterproof phones- and pressing all the buttons produces no change in the power. With a growl of frustration, you throw it against the nearest wall and slap your hands over your face to calm yourself down.

_It's okay, it's okay, it's okay... I'm going to get out of here no matter what, I've lucked out too much to give up just yet,_ You think, inhaling deeply and releasing the air in one huff as you wipe the sweat off of your face and shake it off from your hands. Gaster must have noticed the flower was too close and tried to buy you some time by stopping them and giving you the answers to the harder puzzles...

You don't really trust them, but you definitely _can't_ give up. Even if you don't go through with finding the source of that hum, at least you can maybe get out of here  _alive._

...In fact, you're not letting some dumb flower take you down. Who are _they_ to attack you like that?! 

You _refuse_  to give up.

_Keep moving,_ You snap to yourself, before gathering the nerves to step forward and- 

Vines attach themselves to your wrist in a painful vice grip, and you cry out in astonishment, held in place with your hands extended along either side like you're some kind of doll.

No, NO, _NO!_

Before you know it, that flower has popped out of the ground from beneath you, giving you that cute smile from before. When you make eye contact, it winks and sticks it's tongue out playfully. "Howdy, human! How about... We try this again," the flower begins, before move vines pop out from the ground and-

...?

You blink in confusion when the flower seems to narrow its eyes on your legs, shifts its eyes to the side to mutter something to itself, and then uses it's vines to lift your previously injured leg up curiously. It's expression twists with frustration as it scans your limb thoroughly and then promptly drops it. With an disgruntled glare, they look back up at you and release your wrists abruptly, making you drop on your ass with a squeak.

"OW!" You complain, but the flower doesn't seem to have heard you. If they have, they don't care at all.

"...What did you do?" The flower demands, looking a little unnerved as it shifts back from you, pulling their vines back as it scowls up in your direction.

Your face, still expressing the pain from your tailbone, scrunches up near the left side in a stink eye. "Do? What... What are you _talking_ about?" You ask, before realizing that you've been given a chance to talk. Maybe you can _talk_ it into not killing you, right? But first... You need to answer a few of their questions. "I didn't do anything! I just fell down a hole!"

The flower doesn't look convinced at all, and their lips widen in a dark, malicious grin. 

"Oh, you _fell_ , did you now? You know... That thing back there near my friend's resting place..." The flower starts, causing your eyes to widen with horror. The... The flower patch? _The flower patch is a freaking grave?_  Oh god, that's more than just disturbing. "That thing was following you. I managed to get ahead of it and trap it in my vines back there for a bit, but _ooooooh boy!_ It _really_ wanted to chase after you! Hmm... I wonder _why!"_ The flower throws a flat, deadpanning glare up at you. "Wanna explain to little ol' me what the hell you just _brought_ down here and why your leg has _magically_ patched up in the ten minutes you've been out of sight?"

_Oh hell no,_  you think, spinning around to find some kind of detour to get away from the demonic flower. Of course, that's all you get to do, because two thick vines the size of tree trunks cross in an 'X' over the exit leading back to the last area. Evidently, you're left standing there staring at your obstructed escape route with a dry throat. Looking ahead towards the house, two vines cross over _that_ exit as well, leaving you between the flower, the dead tree, and the many fallen leaves at your feet.

You're trapped.

Not thinking clearly, you reach for the nearest thick branch of the dead tree and wrestle a reasonable chunk off, facing the flower and inhaling sharply as you hold it out before you defensively. You have something to protect yourself with now! Which means that flower won't get any ideas about messing with you...! You can fight back if it tries to attack you and... And...!

... 

You stare that flower in the eye long enough to commit it to memory. It has six yellow petals framing it's face, a neutral expression across it's once grinning and demonic features. Every petal has a bit of saturated uneven yellow near the center and turns light and oddly wrinkled as it gets to the outer edges. Their stem, likewise, is a dull green color, but it's browning around the bases where leaves have attempted to sprout, the two visible leaves themselves creased and thin as a butterfly wing. The flower looks... Kind of ill now that you're studying it, actually.

They look like they're barely hanging on by a thread.

Your grip on the branch in your hands loosens, much to your horror. This is what you've always been afraid of... You know you're not strong enough to commit to something like this. You're _weak._

Looking into that flower's eyes is enough for you to buckle- and just enough for the flower to quickly and easily examine you as you've done to them.

If you fight for your life... It might very well involve killing another if they're relentless enough.

...And you can't.

The flower smirks a bit, and raises a single brow- though this brow is mostly just a rise in the form of the center of the flower, giving the appearance of a brow despite that there's no bone or hair at all. Seems like they've come to the same pitiful conclusion you've come to.

"...You don't have it in you, do you? To fight? ...Why? I'm just a plant. I'm not even really a monster. In fact... You probably don't even have to use all that much force if you land a direct hit," The flower admits, their smile withering to something akin to sheepishness and maybe... Desperation? You're confused... "I'm low on a _lot_ of, um, HP. I haven't... Seen anyone in a long time, you know? It actually gets kind of lonely down here sometimes!"

The flower giggles awkwardly, but all you can do is stand there wide eyed. The flower sounds _really_ unstable. It sounds like it's trying to encourage you to hit them or something.

...To _kill_ them, even.

"...Is there a human up there that...?" The flower starts, like they're having difficulty talking to you. You cock your head to the side a smidgen, gauging whether they're trying to cruelly lull you into a false sense of security like they attempted to do when you first saw them. Thinking a little more on how to answer, or whether to answer at all, you come to the same conclusion every time.

What's the point? You're likely going to die anyways.

You open your mouth to reply... But something suddenly clicks in your mind and you regard the flower in a different light all of a sudden. Wait, wait _, wait._

"...Are you, like... A ghost or something?" You end up blurting out. The flower looks a little insulted and angry that you've ignored their query, and you quickly resolve the problem by adding, "I mean... Yeah, Frisk is up at the surface, but... How are _you_ here?"

The flower seems to calm down a bit now that you've answered their query (whew, dodged a bullet there), but makes a face at your continued horrible question.

"Do I _look_ like a ghost, you massive _**idiot?!**_ Of course I'm not! And for the record, this is the underground, sweet heart. We were all stuck down here before, remember? I mean, you saw how we..." The flower chuckles a little when you take a small step back from them, their grin giving a dark edge of malignant mischief. "... _Bonded_ , when you fell. You think those bleeding hearts that left this place want a little beastie like me up there, giving humans a bad impression of monsters?"

You raise a brow of confusion. "I thought you said... You weren't a monster?"

The flower immediately shoots you an "are you an idiot?" look. "When you first saw me, what did you think I was? Your average little sunflower of the mill? Use that gross and wet brainy organ of yours for a second, will ya?"

Honestly, you wish you could swat at the flower, but it would likely attack you if you tried. A quick shake of your head, and you get back on track.

"N-no, wait, I wasn't talking about down _here,_ here. I mean in this timeless zone. ...Did Gaster bring you here too?" You ask, watching as the flower scrunches their face up in confusion.

"...Huh? Who's Gaste-?" The flower questions, before they seem to freeze and growl in realization. It peeks it's head around you and then pulls the vines down from along the exits away quickly. Confused, you look around in surprise, but it appears the flower has retracted all their vines once more. Your exits have become accessible once more. 

It's while you're looking away that you feel something wrap around your wrist, and you jump when you turn back to see the flower uproot itself and wrap it's vines and roots around your wrist. You drop the branch with an abrupt cringe of fear.

"H-hey, wait!" You panic, immediately thinking it's about to get creative with your murder. It isn't until it settles comfortably across your shoulders that you start to relax and realize what it's doing, the flower itself settled over your left shoulder.  

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so explain while we get away from that thing..." The flower starts, before grinning wickedly at you. You shiver uneasily, much to the flower's amusement. _"Or else I'll teach you the greatest lesson this world has to offer."_

The flower's previously stated words from earlier ring in the back of your mind.

_In this world, it's kill or be killed._

You swallow, accepting your fate... And moving to start jogging towards the little house with your new manic companion. Any wrong move and it's _literally_ hanging by your neck...

You'd better plan your words carefully, cause this flower really _isn't_ the average sunflower off the mill- unless regular sunflowers are _all_ murderous psychopaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Even louder screaming*
> 
>  
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3 (Don't do it, I'm not worth it after this TmT)](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)


	32. Paired Companions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and the demented flower get to know each other, and your focus on the situation at hand continuously slips as you leave the ruins. On the other hand, Papyrus and Druella, separated from Sans and Undyne, are on the trail of something! But what of Undyne's fate?!

 

Chapter 32: Paired Companions

"Hurry up and get moving, you lousy human! Isn't your leg all healed up so you can run? _Chop, chop! Mush!_ Do _something!"_  The crazy flower that is now hooked around your neck and shoulders shouts into your ear uncomfortably, startling you so that you flinch in surprise. With the flower's demanding words, you start running towards the little house ahead of you.

Entering the house that is somehow built using the same amethyst that makes up the ruins, you are half gobsmacked at the immediate change in the tone and environment. It's not that you had been thinking about what to expect of the little house in the first place, but... This place actually looks like someone's home. Someone _normal._  A few days ago, you'd probably have been irritated and vexed to know it was the home of a monster...

...

Never mind _that_  though. Where do you go now? Is this house a dead end, or is there a back door that leads out of here? Has the unstable flower startled you into a corner?

"Ahead! Down the stairs, human!" The flower orders. Due to your panic at the fact that the creature from before is likely on it's way, you stupidly obey the flower blindly. You can't think straight! Is that your headache returning from earlier? Why is it hurting again? Last time it stopped hurting after your sleepy jump off the pier into the ocean... Why hasn't this recent jump into the water of the ruins helped? Needless to say, your thoughts are disorganized and all over the place. If you ignore the flower and leave it up to your own instincts, you'll likely just end up freezing where you stand. You're not good in these kinds of situations- all you can usually manage to get from your thoughts in a state of panic is, "RUN, RUN, HIDE, RUN". Everything else in your mind mixes together and becomes white noise.

_Fuck,_  you curse in the back of your mind as you throw yourself towards the stairs thoughtlessly.

You're not a clumsy person by nature at all. Sure, you've had a few instances where it may have _seemed_ like it, but that's only when you're in immediate panic. Every move you make is usually executed gracefully, from the way you walk to the way you hold yourself. Quiet and elegant. 

...Which is why you are rather mortified when your toes get caught under the rug set between the entrance and the stairs, causing your body to start to pitch forward.

You've recently been losing your grace since you met monsters- and it seems that you're likely to continue this decline if you don't start focusing on where you're feet are going. 

Both you and the flower blanch in equal disbelief, but lucky for you, the flower attached to your body snaps out some vines from around your shoulders to splinter their way violently into the wooden paneling of the house. You yelp as your fall comes to a sudden stop, half suspended in the air by the flower's vines. You don't relax at all with those vines around you.

The flower lets out a sigh of relief and then turns it's head to face you with a scowl. "Watch where you're walking! You'll sooner get _us_ killed before that thing back there does!" The flower snaps irritably as you're yanked back up into a straightened position. You cringe, expecting to be strangled or ripped to shreds at any moment by this flower's vines. When this doesn't come soon enough, you take a deep breath and force yourself to run off towards the stairs again. This time, you make sure you're not about to stumble again as you swing around the rails of the staircase and descend two steps down at a time.

"So, what's your name, human?" The flower asks while you run, examining their nearest root ends from where they're perched around your shoulders. You can't help but make a face at the casual and nonchalant way the flower is suddenly acting. What a _psychopath._

Although... Is it just you, or does the flower seem to be merely _acting_ as if it's taken an interest in it's roots because it doesn't want you to know how interested in you it is?

_...Stupid flower,_  you think. In fact, this flower is even **stupider** than Sans- at least _he_ didn't actually try to kill you! He just threatened you and played some rotten tricks on you!

You scrunch up your nose in annoyance. On second thought, they're _both_ stupid. Sans himself still has a long way until you truly forgive him- if he even _ever_ manages to win you over. Honestly, that lazy bag of ketchup-stained bones can apologize all he wants for all you care. You don't _want_ to forgive him. He wants to blame his bad attitude on irrationality? Like you want a friend that can snap and become like he was before at any moment! 

_Stupid Sans._

While thinking this, the flower on your shoulder eventually grows tired of your shenanigans and shifts their attention to your face with a sigh of irritation. As soon as they see _your_ irritated expression, they relax their features and raise a brow in confusion. You look like you're thinking about something you don't like. Whatever it is, the flower can only imagine- but that's not what they want you to be focused on at the moment.

"...Hey, _human!_ I asked you a question. You still home in there, or what?" The flower huffs, snapping the end of their vine against the back of your head lightly to bring you out of your thoughts. Realizing that you were just spending much too long thinking about Sans when your thoughts had nothing to do with him in the first damn place, you glance back at the flower to finally answer them.

"(Name)," you respond, jumping off the stairs after noticing your pause in running. Well, the flower's right about _one_ thing. You're likely to get the two of you killed before that other creature does. Your panting begins, but you keep trekking forward. "What about you...?" 

Rather than answer, the flower lets out a snicker of amusement and puts the wilted end of one of their petals over their mouth. _"Hah!_  You dumb fleshy ones always lose your breath so quickly... Evolution has _not_ been kind to you humans. I swear, even that wide smiley trashbag didn't tire as quick as you do!"

You give the flower a puzzled frown of confusion. "Smiley Trashbag"...? You don't know and you don't even _care_ to know. If you weren't so busy running, you'd have shot the rotten little weedling a nasty look... But _whatever_ though. If it's not going to bother to tell you it's name, you'll just keep referring to it as a "weed" in your head. It's likely you won't say it to the flower's face, but if it irritates you enough, _maybe_ it might slip out. You know how you tend to be when you're aggravated... _Snappy_.

"Listen... I don't think you should even _be_ here-" You start, but notice the flower snap two beady black eyes on you threateningly. It looks like it's about to say something, so you quickly start talking again so that it has no chance to interrupt you. "Gaster told me they brought me here, but if you weren't brought here like I was... How did you end up here?"

The flower hisses, but you don't recoil this time, sensing that the flower more or less isn't about to harm you again. How you know this... It's really just a feeling based on what you're seeing of it's current behavior patterns. Maybe it wasn't really trying to kill you before either? After all, it _did_ toss you away to safety when that slime thing entered the underground... Sorta? Maybe it has humor even more screwed up that _Sans?_

You almost snort humorlessly at this, but catch yourself and scowl. Stupid Sans seems to be popping up in your head a lot... That's **_annoying_**.

"I already _told_ you, you half wit idio-!" The flower begins to visibly snap, their face becoming unexpectedly demonic and finally earning a small squeak and flinch of fear out of you as a result of it's building anger. You turn a corner and come to a stop as you await it's next action with wide eyes- ready to wrestle it off if you really have to. 

You don't expect it to cut itself off and relax it's features, much less look a smidgen guilty like it does. You find this strange coming from someone that was only recently trying to strangle you to dead minutes earlier. Even stranger that they themselves look baffled by their inability to continue threatening you.

Noticing they've calmed down, you relax your tensed muscles as well and start jogging down a long path, where you can see another turn of a corner a few ways ahead. You take advantage of the flower's pause.

"And _I_ said I wasn't talking about the mountain," you emphasize calmly, making sure not to set the plant off again. They look confused as a result of your words, wearing the same expression you've seen from fellow students at the college when you tell them of an event or service a the school they were entirely unaware of. "Do you know what's going on?"

This is actually an honest question you're asking on your part, but the flower visibly interprets it as a sassy insult. Thankfully, it doesn't make that disturbing face at you from before again. It looks like the kind of creepy ass face someone would put in a movie or video game as a jump scare...

"Excuse me?! What are you talking about?! I know practically _everything!_  I know a hell of a lot more than _you_ do, that's a fact!" the flower huffs, right before grazing a thorny vine against the sensitive center of your neck with a soft laugh. _"I could cut you open from where I am, **(Name).** "_

You don't take this threat to heart (...entirely), but reach up to push the vine away and scratch at where the thorns have tickled you nerves. Seems like irritating the flower makes it talk more. Well, at least you know what to do now. "...What's _your_ name? Do you even have one...?"

The flower looks mildly surprised by your sudden boldness, but turns it's nose up to the ceiling proudly as it answers you. _"Flowey._  Flowey the flower. Remember it, human."

...

A snort escapes you due to the ridiculousness of such a violent flower's name, and the flower snaps it's face back in your direction.

"Watch it. It's cheesy for a reason- the less unassuming my name sounds, the likelier I am to be trusted!" Flowey pauses... And shoots you a smug grin with malignant intent. "You know, so I can _rip them to shreds and everything later."_

You roll your eyes after angling your face in a position where they can't see you doing it. This guy... Ugh. Half of you is horrified to think this could be true, but after tossing you to safety, you're not sure whether it's just _talk._

You finally turn the corner, and come to a slow stop as you see two large amethyst doors already opened up to a new location. 

Past the doors is a small, dark dome shaped cavern with a hole atop that shines a ray of light over a small patch of colorless grass.

...Just one patch.

_Monsters probably didn't have a lot of plant life like we did up on the surface,_  you realize, chest cringing with sympathy as you gaze down at the lonely patch. Other than that other patch of golden flowers from the grave site, you'd only caught a few glimpses of house plants in that little home. Then there was that dead tree in front of the house, but... Well, it's dead, that's just it. Every leaf that grows off it appears to immediately fall. So maybe  _barely_ alive?

You focus your attention on the other side, remembering your situation. You can't dillydally like this- something is on your trail, remember?

Just on the other side of this dark room is an arched doorway though, and what's on the other side bears a striking contrast of the warm, welcoming environment of the ruins.

On the other side are a monochrome shade of tightly knit trees and snow- but every few sections have a pop of color randomly scattered through the area. Flowey is strangely quiet over your shoulder as you step closer towards the doors- up until you stand at the border between the ruins and the small room.

There's snow. Actual _legitimate_ snow in the underground. How is that even possible? What the hell is _weather_ doing down here?!

_Magic. Whatever._

"Haven't you wondered why there's a lack of color in a few areas down here?" You ask, flicking your gaze to the flower over your shoulder as you place a foot over the snow- and once you've determined it isn't as cold as you've imagined, you proceed your jog. It doesn't snow around Ebott Creek or the city at all, which is why it's so surprising to find it in here- especially _inside_ an enclosed area like the underground.

As you look at Flowey, you find that they're wearing this strange expression of vexation as their eyes bounce around the trees and snow, like they haven't actually _seen_ this area in a while...

"...I haven't gone past the ruins since they left me," the petaled creature eventually responds after you've run a good distance and reached this bridge with a... Strangely designed wooden gate. You have enough tact to listen to the flower and pause as you interpret their words. "They"... Is Flowey talking about the monsters?

Empathy bubbles up to the surface of your face for this wilting, sickly little flower when they seem to hide a cough into one of their dry leafy petals. 

"... You know you don't have to stay down here, right...? Everyone has a right to the surface- nobody truly _owns_ it," you comment, watching as the flower throws a dry look of exasperation your way. Like they've heard this a million times before.

"Oh? And where am I gonna go? Only three people actually know I exist- Frisk, that tall charismatic bone boy, and the Royal Scientist." Flowey pauses as they regard you, a twitch of a sad smile playing on their features. "Four counting your clumsy ass, I guess."

You blurt it out before you even think it through. You're probably going to regret this later.

"Come with me then," you answer without hesitation, reaching up to lift one of their half dried leaves with a finger. The flower looks astonished by your words, and twice as surprised when you reach out to examine their leaves. "You need _nourishment_. Being down here isn't healthy for you."

At that, the flower's expression changes to a scowl and it swats your finger away with a surprisingly weak force. Nothing like the force it exerted when using it's vines. Are the vines not a part of them then? Just something it creates out of magic? Like Undyne's energy spears? "Why do _you_ care?" The flower snaps, looking both irritated and, what you don't expect, embarrassed. "You don't even know me. I tried to kill you. Letting me into your home? I could kill you in your _sleep."_

"I have my own room." 

"I can open doors."

"I'm a light sleeper."

"I'm stealthy!"

_"I'm_ not having this argument with you right now," you snap with a sudden tone of authority, watching as Flowey recoils in surprise. However, they soon give you a sly grin after a moment.

"You're not as wimpy as you make yourself out to be, are you?" The flower snickers, waving your responding look of confusion off and promptly gesturing ahead towards the bridge ahead of you with a leaf. "Check that out, human. It was made by my tall pal to stop and trap humans. What do you think?"

You follow the flower's gaze to the bridge ahead and cock your head to the side curiously. Sure, it does look like it was meant to halt entry to the other side... Though if you ran an jumped like you did before over the spikes in the ruins, you could likely jump over it to the other side. Thankfully, you don't really have to do that or any...

...!

"Are you talking about _Papyrus?"_  You realize all of a sudden, eyes wide with recognition.

Flowey rolls their eyes, but a satisfied grin plays on their lips. "Yep. Him."

You look back at the gate, releasing a cackle of amusement at the sight of the wide bars. It looks small enough that you could easily fit right through it, so... You walk forward with this funny expression and do exactly that. Glancing over your shoulder at Flowey, you find that they too are making a funny expression.

"This _does_ seem like his work..." You respond, before turning to continue past and come across what looks like a little hut in a snowy clearing. "Hey, what's that...?"

At the mention of Papyrus, your mood has brightened considerably, and you hurry over to examine for some kind of tool that might be of use. Much to your surprise, there are condiments on the surface- one of relish... And one of...

Your smile dissolves and you make an aggravated face of realization.

_**"Sans,"**_  you practically hiss, before pulling a foot back and kicking the station hard enough to dent and crack the wooden base of it considerably. The relish bottle and the other condiment that has set you off- a _ketchup_ bottle- topples over on the surface, with the relish bottle rolling off the side of the station. Flowey jerks with a grunt, looking disturbed by your explosive reaction... But says something about it despite their better judgement.

"Uh... I take it you're not a fan of the smiley trash bag either?" The flower atop your shoulder queries, looking only a tad bit uncomfortable. You sniff and glare at the station a little more before spinning around and jogging off again, not answering Flowey.

_That's right... I'm not here to sight see. Focus on what you're here for._

"...You said I'm not supposed to be here, right?" Flowey changes the subject, much to your relief. "So then... Where _is_ this exactly?"

"Gaster told me this was a timeless zone," you answer, sliding over a flat layer of ice and resuming your run as your muscles and adrenaline pump with the irritation of Sans' return to your thoughts. He's been since earlier today after you sleepwalked off the pier, but you're half inclined to believe it to be a ruse. No one gets over dislike _that_ quickly. It's not natural. 

"Mm-hmm."  

... _Well, at least they aren't trying to threaten me or kill me anymore,_ you think with a satisfied nod.

"Okay, and who is this 'Gaster' person you keep talking about?"

This, you don't actually have an answer to...

"they're... They're like a skeleton monster I've been seeing around. I hear them too sometimes. They're the one that helped be get past that doll and perspective puzzle in the ruins. They told me with dolls had the correct switches under them," you answer, already feeling the flower's gaze drilling into you.

"A skeleton monster? ...There's only two skeleton monsters I know- Smiley Trashbag, and his better half. They aren't common down here at all- I mean... This is weird to me, but those two are _literally_ the only two skeleton monsters down here. They like... Just popped up here. Most of the skeleton monsters died during the Monster-Human wars that forced everyone that wasn't a human down here anyways," Flowey explains, much to your bewilderment.

"You're very knowledgeable," you comment after a second, watching the flower give you an annoyed look despite the red flooding their cheeks suddenly by your uncalled for compliment. Before they can snap at you like they appear to want to, you add, "Gaster is like them, actually. Except, he has two cracks in these areas and one of his eye sockets are in a crescent like..." You draw your fingers over the areas of your face where each detail is.

Flowey watches curiously, relaxing now that you're back on topic.

"Also... They have these holes in their palms and look like they're kind of melting," you explain, watching the flower furrow it's brow with a shake of it's head.

"No, I've never seen a monster like that down here," they respond, before tapping your head curiously. "You sure it isn't all just in your head?"

You narrow your eyes. This demented little weed did _not_ just call you crazy right now, right? Hah! _They're_ one to talk!

"No. I wouldn't be here if it was a hallucination," you huff, before tilting your ear up to catch the persistent humming deeper within the mountain. "By the way... You hear anything like a 'hum' or something?" 

Flowey tilts their head a little and you stop running to let them listen. You can hear it loud and clear as you wait for the flower's response, your brain already remembering the slight tune it makes if hummed faster. You can predict every note that comes after.

"...You're crazy," the flower evidently responds, much to your irritation. By the looks of the giggling plant, that seems to have been it's main goal. "But seriously, I don't hear anything like that. Just dead silence and impending doom for the both of us if you keep stopping and-"

You bolt ahead with the flower clinging tightly so they don't fall off your shoulders by your sudden movement.

* * *

 

"...! Pink Human, I think we are close!" Papyrus blurts out as he takes a couple long strides past the ruins and out into the familiar snow just outside of Snowdin Town, speeding up with Druella and Cynthia at his heels.

The smell of fresh fallen snow makes the tall skeleton nostalgic, despite the fact they were entrapped down there in the first place due to unsavory reasons. Normally, Papyrus would throw himself in the snow to make a skelly-angel like he used to do as a kid when his brother was livelier... Instead, he focuses entirely on the pulse of your location and jogs until he reaches the blocked gate he made in the past.

His eyes widen in realization and he comes to a sudden stop, nearly causing Druella to run into him. Curious, but not angry at all, she glances around him. At the same time, Papyrus spins around quickly.

"Pink Human! It appears my trap persists even after I have left the vicinity! I believe you will need my assistance bypassing this obstacle!" Papyrus claims.

Druella looks from Papyrus brightly grinning face to the gate and back, as if contemplating her options. Eventually, she just shrugs up at him.

"Whatever you say," she responds, looking less than affected by his claims.

At this, Papyrus jumps and claps his hands, flexing his boned arms as if stretching muscles... Muscles he doesn't have whatsoever. Druella herself can't help the twitch of her lips at the amusing sight, but doesn't move an inch when Papyrus reaches out and picks her up by her waist. Turning, he places her up on the top of the gate in a seated position, where Druella is then able to jump off safely to the other side.

"Nyeh heh heh... Excellent!" Papyrus exclaims, right before turning to lift a compliant Cynthia up in his arms and... Walk right through the gate, much to Druella's confusion.

"...Not gonna jump over it yourself?" Druella inquires, expression only shining through her eyes a smidgen.

Papyrus looks surprised by her inquiry and laughs at her naivety, gesturing to the gate behind himself.

"This gate is a trap to stop _humans,_ Pink Human. Neither floppy canine or I are humans, are we? Therefore, the two of us are immune to the gate's intimidating power," Papyrus explains matter-of-factly, causing a bit more of a smile to form on Druella's face.

At the sight of this, Papyrus looks a smidgen pleased, but Druella glances past him for something... And her expression dissolves once more. Papyrus pouts slightly, but her words soon snap him to attention.

"Where are Sans and Undyne?" She asks, causing Papyrus to turn and then slap a hand over his skull in realization. No! How could he have not noticed! Was he truly so focused on Druella and the floppy Canine after she asked him to lead the way for her?! An unforeseen plight!

"Sans is likely the cause of this... No matter, I am certain they will catch up. I believe we should continue our search for Miss Human in the meantime, for her sake," Papyrus concludes after a bit of thought, turning to face Druella and gesturing her ahead with one last look towards the long path to the open doors of the ruins.

_He better not be torturing Undyne with his terrible puns,_ Papyrus thinks, before walking faster when he picks your soul's location again. He must be close- the pulses are getting stronger... Maybe he just can't tell how close until he's at a certain range.

Papyrus stops when he nearly trips over something buried in the snow. Glancing down and kicking snow off of the offending object, he finds a lamp. It's a familiar lamp, one Sans once brought to 'lighten up the mood' by his station. 

Papyrus cringes at the memory of the pun. It was funny back then, as it was the first time Sans said it. Now, after repetitive uses of the same thing, it was only one of many puns that made the tall skeleton scream to the heavens.

_**...crunch...**_

Papyrus looks up from the lamp at the sound of snow crunching, but his brow bone furrows when he notices Druella looking at the lamp beside him. By her feet sits Cynthia... But neither seem to be the cause of the crunching snow. Curiosity piqued, Papyrus sixth sense activates enough to make him look around wildly for the source of the sound, leaving Druella standing where he left her, watching her tall companion in confusion. 

Cynthia looks excited by the skeleton's movement and moves to follow with a wagging tail, but Druella catches her by the back of her collar to hold her back.  

"Sit," Druella says, making her pooch sit back on her haunches comfortably and watch the skeleton with growing excitement. Druella herself watches with her own curiosity, but knows better than to get in his way by the expression of scrutiny across his face.

After a few steps, Papyrus freezes in realization. His expression is that of shock, and his eyes seem to follow something in the snow. Looking for what he's staring at with such an expression, Druella follows his gaze... And she too freezes when she notices it.

There are marks of walking footprints on the ground. Not just _any_ remaining footprints either, but footprints that are _still being made._ Step by step, another appears and continues, Papyrus watching them intently until they stop by his brother's old station...

...

**BANG!!**

Papyrus yelps in surprise and backs off a foot when a large cracked indent suddenly appears around the base of his brother's station, causing the leftover condiments to fall over atop it. A bottle of relish rolls precariously near the edge, but reaching out, Papyrus catches it in it's descent and gives the station a bewildered stare.

Turning back for Druella's input, Papyrus is surprised to see a clear expression of shock across her face as she stares at the station. Neither seem to know how to explain what just happened... Until Papyrus _can._

"AAAHHH!" Papyrus shouts with realization, noticing the wild pulsing of your soul and it's location.

_Right. Freaking. There._

" _Miss Human?!_ I can't see you, why have you suddenly become INVISIBLE?!" Papyrus calls out, but you don't seem to reply... If it even _is_ you that is somehow making those footprints in the snow.

Druella straightens up and releases Cynthia to approach Papyrus, but a sudden babble of confusion on his part as he looks ahead and starts jogging makes her follow her quick footed friend.

_Where is she going?!_  Papyrus wonders as he follows the footprints, which are gradually speeding up. You're very fast for an invisible human...! Papyrus wasn't even _aware_ humans could turn invisible!

"Is this a hidden talent all you humans possess?!" Papyrus asks Druella as she falls into step with him surprisingly easily, making her shake her head.

"Humans don't go invisible. This is something else," Druella informs him seriously, the two watching for the footsteps until the come to an abrupt end, causing both Druella and Papyrus to come to a sudden stop as they slide over the crunching snow. Druella's breath comes out quickly, but there is no fog in the contrasting cold environment as she looks around with Papyrus for any sign of the footsteps.

"Where did they...?" Druella begins, just as Cynthia lets out a bark. Her dog is well trained, and both Papyrus and Druella focus their attention on Cynthia as she runs off ahead towards what looks to be an area with clearing. She's barking up at something... Which is strange, to say in the least. What, is this invisible person _flying_ now? Is it really you that Papyrus is sensing? Or just a whimsical imagination? If so, then what is it that's floating before them?

Neither of the two can answer that, but proceed to follow Cynthia wordlessly. She's on the trail of _something,_ so it's likely to be very important.

* * *

 

"...Ugh..." A voice growls as they reach up blindly to press a hand over their face, running it down their features as they shift to sit up and groan even louder. "What the hell happened...?"

Someone beside them lets out a big sigh of relief, and sits back with a click of bones, looking a lot worse for wear than they did before.

"Heh... Whoa, that was... That was pretty **shell shocking**... I thought you'd fallen down," the deep voice says, causing the person still in the process of sitting up to remove the hand from their face and turn to see who is talking. They give her a wink and a wave, inhaling and exhaling like they've just run a marathon. "Hey."

Undyne blinks her single gold eye at him, observing him for a moment too long. Sans squirms in embarrassment under her gaze, and eventually pulls his eye lights from her. At this, Undyne lets out a gasp of disbelief.

"You did _not...!"_  She realizes, before reaching out and scrambling with the skeleton's shirt knotted in her hold. "Did you _heal_ me?! When you only have _one HP?!"_

_..._

"M-maybe...?" Sans awkwardly responds, watching as Undyne slaps her palm to her face and produces something from her pocket, unwrapping it and shoving it straight against his teeth. Considering his teeth are more or less always closed, it clicks painfully against his face. Other than a wince though, Sans only raises a single brow bone at it's appearance.

"I _always_ have monster candy on me, nerd. Open that trap up! How are you even still standing around here like this...? You must be tougher than I thought if you've got the audacity to stand here and look me in the eye after that shit!"

Sans gives her a look but obediently opens his jaw up, allowing Undyne the pleasure (read: disgust) of watching a blue glowing tongue form and wrap it's length around the candy in her fingers. With a loud sound of disgust when she feels the slick ectoplasm of his weird tongue touch her fingers, she yanks her hand back and vigorously wipes the grossness on Sans' jacket.

"EwwwwWWW! Don't do _that!"_  Undyne snaps, much to Sans' amusement when he starts chuckling as he dangles in her grip with his hands casually shoved in his pocket. As he bites the candy, Undyne makes the notice of the way his mouth closes and his teeth chew behind what looks to be his mouth ridges- though the way they move looks strangely similar to a pair of lips.

_Well, if he_ does _ever win (Name)'s heart over, she won't be..._  Undyne gives the rest of Sans a look of bold disdain. _... **Entirely** disappointed._

"Anyways..." Undyne puts Sans back down and his mouth reverts back to his usual grinning teeth. As he meets her gaze, she crosses her arms. "What was I doing on the ground?"

Sans expression turns serious. "I told you who we were here to find and you just keeled over," he explains, watching Undyne's expression as she frowns and cocks her head to the side.

"'Who we're here to find'? Are we looking for somebody?" She asks, before looking around at wherever the hell she...

Her single gold eye widens at the patch of golden flowers, illuminated by moonlight from the hole all the way up that leads out of the mountain.

"...What the actual _fuck_ are we doing down here?" Undyne suddenly snaps furiously, looking appalled and directing her sharp words to Sans. They aren't allowed down here, those are _King Asgore's rules._ Was this _Sans'_ idea?! _"Sans-"_

"Are you telling me you don't remember _again?"_ Sans asks, sockets going pitch black with irritation. "YOU were down here first. You brought _yourself_ here. We're looking for **_(Name)._**  Or do you still have no clue who the hell I'm talking about?"

Undyne makes a face, relaxing herself to at least listen to what the nerd has to say. Her nerves are twitching, itching to release pent up anger at this sudden revelation. She's got no clue how she got here at all, but what the hell is Sans talking about? Why would Undyne forget who _you_ are? You're her bestie in the making!

"Yes, I know (Name), what's your point? I was _just_ standing in front of her house right now! How the hell did I get down here?!" Undyne complains more, despite Sans looking slightly placated by her statement.

_Well, at least she knows who I'm talking about_ , Sans thinks to himself as he tries to think of how to start this explanation.

"...Well, first and foremost, (Name) is missing. You never told me where she went, and when I called you asking, you told me you didn't know who I was talking about at all," Sans explains, watching as Undyne's expression grows with disbelief.

Something about hearing him tell her something she did that she can't remember... Is kind of creepy.

"You told me you were following something you felt though. You're not the only one that forgot who (Name) was either, a lot of people did too. Seemed like Papyrus, myself, and your friend Druella are the only ones who remembered her. Everything else is just water under the bridge though, all you need to know for sure is that we're down here because you and Papyrus felt her soul in the mountain." 

Undyne's expression turns dark as she looks towards the archway leading into the ruins. "When I find that little punk...!" She huffs, Sans following her easily as they proceed into the amethyst corridors. As if remembering Sans's existence as well, she gives him a look. "You didn't get all nosy up in my emotions when you healed me, did you?"

Sans shifts his gaze to her and taps the lifted bridge of bone above his nose hole. 

"I ain't got a nose to be nosing around your business, **Fish Sticks** ," Sans says with a wink.

Undyne's expression twists in a snarl, and she turns her face away to mutter. "If (Name) ever really returns your feelings, I think I'll hurl..."

"What was that?" Sans inquires, looking confused by her mumbling. 

_"Nothing, Sansy~"_

"...Don't ever call me that again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! It's SATURDAY AGAIN!!
> 
> ...
> 
> Okay, so I want to discuss this issue that I've been having. Fridays have become excessively busy for me to type up chapters from my notebook, especially when I tend to embellish them as I transfer and edit the writing to the computer. I'm considering **moving the updates to Saturdays** from now on. Would that be alright with you guys? If you're not okay with this, feel free to say something, I just want to know what you guys are comfortable with!  <3
> 
> On another note though, METAMATERIALGIRL HAS DONE IT AGAIN. *faints dramatically Mettaton style* That gal ain't human. She's a WIZARD. Her art is crazy good and whenever I see her apply her skills to any piece of work, I just... HHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG <333
> 
> #ImStillNotWorthy
> 
> The link of her new piece is below, called _Undyne the Undiving_ (clever name, eh~?) from way back then in Ch. 5: Scaled Survivors! Send her praise~! PRAISE HER!
> 
> SHE NEEDS YOUR LOVE. GIVE IT TO HER. <3 
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3 (Don't do it, I'm not worth it after this TmT)](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)


	33. Synergism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The creature is adapting in alarming ways. At what point will you finally escape it? Or will you at all?

Chapter 33: Synergism

 

"H-hey, wait a minute! _Stop!"_

Startled by the shout from the small floral creature hanging over your shoulders after running a good distance through the snow and reaching a split in the road, you furrow your brow. Confused by Flowey's sudden outburst and demand for you to stop (which is rather perplexing, considering that they were the one initially complaining about you going too slow in the first place), you gradually slow down and look over your shoulder at them.

"What? Why are we stopping?" You ask in confusion, only to fall silent when you notice something moving along the ground. It's nothing large like an animal or figure of any sorts.

Much to your confusion, it's a single crack that is heading towards you from the area ahead of you- breaking through the snow and frost. It look like it's reaching out for you like a hand, breaking into five smaller cracks that begin to speed up in your direction. Baffled by the strange cracks still heading in your direction, you jump out of the way and back off when they make a curve and follow you.

"What the hell is that...?" You ask with stiff unease, feeling the muscles in your face paralyze into a look of anxiety as you watch the cracks reach for you again.

Flowey is silent as they creep their vines around your shoulders and waist a smidgen tighter. You feel them doing so, but give it no other thought since you're currently focused on the strange black cracks on the ground.

The longer you walk backwards and eye the cracks though... Are the cracks seeping black goo...?

"HEADS UP!" 

Your heart nearly bursts out of your chest at the sudden shout by your ear, but before you can scold the flower for nearly breaking your right ear drum, you're launched up in the air once more. The speed in which you are tossed upwards implies urgency, but it isn't until your body is suspended by the ceiling that you realize why so much force was applied to throw you upwards.

The ceiling in this snowy area is a _lot_ higher than the ceiling to floor distance within the ruins. Thinking about it, maybe it's even higher than the drop you took down that hole, where your literal only saving grace was the horrible vine that caught your leg and pulled your...

Just the memory of the agonizing pain in your hamstring makes your leg throb. You're really freaking lucky that the water Flowey deposited you in melted away all your pains. How did it do that? You still don't know. You want to find out, but of course, you can't distract yourself with that right now. No matter how many different ways you try to add things up, it appears you're missing something.

...Half of you hopes that this missing "something" is the source of this humming. Or maybe if you find this humming, Gaster might be able to explain things to you? After all, this water craziness started around the same time your dreams of his warnings did. It's reasonable why you would relate the two with one another.

_Stop. You're getting distracted again._

"That was too close...!" Flowey huffs over your shoulder, seemingly having never left that location in the first place. How'd he toss you up if he was attached to you the whole time?

_Goes to show that those vines aren't a part of him, they're just regular vines affected by his magic and allow him extra movement,_ You think observantly, making sure not to look at the ground.

Why aren't you looking at the ground? Well, you can hear the distinct sound of goopy slime slapping and dripping below. You already know not to look down at it, and although it appears that Flowey can stare at it like they're currently doing, you're not about to take any chances. No matter how curious you are.

You feel the flower begin to swing you away quickly with vines from above, and to keep from being juggled around so sloppily, you adjust your body and grab hold of every vine that links to Flowey's main vines around your waist. Doing so, you allow the momentum of the swings to fluidly propel your body forward in a stable swing, which makes the swinging feel a lot less wobbly from your loose weight moving in all directions like a rag doll.

"Thanks," the flower huffs, but you don't respond since you're busy following the swinging movements and focusing on where Flowey is actually taking you. You can follow their swings to reduce drag, but you can't direct the direction they're going in. If he isn't going the right direction, you'll have to say something.

_**Hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~...** _

You can still hear it. Loud and clear in your ears. The humming sounds like it's still far away. On the bright side, at least Flowey is helping you cover a good distance of the ground pretty quickl-

With a sudden blast of broken rock from above, a black tendril much like Flowey's bursts out an makes a deadly dive for the two of you mid swing. Both you and Flowey are caught off guard, and scream in unison as you both watch the tendril form a sharp point, right before splitting into five smaller tendrils that look unnervingly similar to a hand.

Before it grabs you, Flowey makes the hasty decision to drop the two of you a foot through the vines, making the black hand-shaped tendril grasp the vines instead of the two of you. The drop makes your stomach do flip flops, but the feeling of the sudden halt in your descent by that grab at the vines above you has every nerve inside of you turning into stone.

Next thing you know, the vines snap apart altogether, and the feeling of the contents in your belly flying up to your throat makes you tense up. This is going to hurt...!

_No! FOCUS!_

Forcing yourself to look over your shoulder, you see Flowey with a stricken expression as well. The reminder that you're not the only one that's about to hit the ground with a splat seems to wake you up a little more, and you shift your arms a little.

"Flowey, I need you to work with me!" You bark maybe a little to harshly, but it seems to do the trick in waking the petaled creature up from whatever horrible thought they're thinking of. "Wrap your vines around my arms. If I make a motion to swing, extend your vine out as _far_ as you can in that direction and grab the first thing within reach!"

The flower makes no sound or comment of affirmation, but the feeling of their vines extending and coiling around your biceps is all the confirmation you need to know that they've heard you.

You flip your body forwards with as much effort as you can muster... Until you catch sight of a low hanging stalagmite a good couple of feet ahead that continues down towards raised platforms of ground. 

You can see that the platforms of snow covered rock is where the monsters regularly walked, considering there are bridges in place leading to each structure. If you and Flowey can grab hold of the stalagmite, you can probably swing to the large platform ahead, covered with a strange gray scale squares on the ground in a cubic fashion.

_Weird,_ you think as you swing an arm out, causing Flowey to snap out his vines like hookshot following the arc of your swing. With impressive accuracy, the vine swings around the end of the stalagmite tightly, thorns protruding from the thick plant and sinking into the stone to keep us suspended. Grabbing on to the base of the vine half constricted around your bicep (rather uncomfortably, if you must add), you allow gravity to take control.

The two of you swing by another tendril that bursts from the ground, but due to the speed that inclines as you swing on the vine, it misses the two of you entirely. 

You still feel Flowey flinch, despite how far away from it you are as of now.

“You’re okay!” You say outloud, but you’re not entirely sure who exactly it is you’re trying to reassure… Them? or yourself?

The feeling of Flowey’s vine detaching from the stalagmite as you get closer to the ground makes your stomach swirl uncomfortably. You two are swinging fast, this is likely going to hurt, but what other choice do you have?

You skid along the tiles, sneakers squeaking from collected snow and moisture of melted frost against what feels like thick glass. As soon as your speed comes to a slow from your feet, your body falls forward at the end of the platform, making you yelp as you land elbows first against the snow. 

Half of you is surprised that it isn’t as cold as you expect it to be, but you scramble onto your feet and start running for your life despite the injury. You’re going to have so many bruises after this ordeal.

...Well, if you get out alive, that is.

The sounds of the ground breaking behind you in loud bursts only serves to motivate you to move faster, only barely aware of Flowey’s slight increase in breath as they nervously look back over your shoulder.

“...It’s like it’s freaking _copying_ me!” Flowey growls, right before you feel vines wrap around your legs as well. You can feel Flowey’s vines push to match your leg muscle’s force as you run, easing most of the exertion off of you as they help you speed up. “Where are we even headed? Do you know exactly where this dumb ‘Gaster’ guy wants you to go?!”

You breathlessly shake your head, nearly causing a demonic look of absolute rage to form on the flower’s face as it leans out so you can see them. Before they can start screaming at you in their growing rage, you add in your own input.

“It’s not somewhere I’m going to…! It’s _‘something’!_ Gaster told me to get to the source of the hum before… That _thing_ does…! So that’s where I’m going!” You barely manage to shout back over the sound of the bursting rocks getting closer and closer slowly. Even with Flowey’s help, it’s still not enough to out-speed that creature. Not a comforting thought at all.

"I still think you're absolutely _bonkers!"_ Flowey snaps rather heatedly over your shoulder. The pressure must be overwhelming them, but you're not all inclined to pit the blame of his attitude on his nerves alone. After all, he's already unstable as it is without any outside pressure.

As you reach a smooth iced over area that looks like, _dear god, it_ better _not be_ , a PUZZLE, you feel your stomach sink.

“Think fast, human…!” You hear Flowey panic, as they stare behind you. Their expression looks strained and their teeth are clenched tightly, as if trying to focus. “I can only hold this thing off so much with my vines if they can do the same thing as me!"

Your eyes widen slightly. Is _that_ why no black tendrils are bursting from the ground immediately beside you anymore? Flowey is using their own magic controlled vines to keep them down as you pass?!

With a snap decision, you speed up considerably- much to Flowey’s visible shock- and then jump for one of the snow covered platforms in the middle of the icy areas, hands out to catch yourself. Flowey’s face, as the two of you land upside down by your hands is one of complete surprise. You use the already present momentum, as well Flowey’s aid of force along your arms, to flip again over to a metallic button that you land on in a crouch. 

The sound of a buzzard, much like the buzzard in a game show when a player gets the answer wrong, sounds from speakers around you… Somewhere. But instead of letting it distract you, you jump ahead over the present gap and land stomach first with a yelp over a long, narrow walkway of smoothed out ice. You slap your legs and arms on either side of the narrow platform’s edge when you nearly slide off, koala hugging it with wide eyes as you cross behind a thin line of trees of tightly knit trees on either side of you.

Something cold falls on your head during the slide to the other end, and when you come out on the other side, you’re _almost_ amused to see that there’s a poff of snow on Flowey’s head. You must have one too, if the pleasantly cool sensation on your head is any indication.

“Yours is shaped like a bird,” Flowey comments, while you jump on your feet and shake the snow off of your head. If they’re getting distracted by the shape of a snow sculpture on your head, they must _really_ be shaken up by that thing back there…

The run ahead through the snow is actually rather calm in comparison to the distance you had to run previously, that is, until you reach what looks to be a bridge atop a drop into a deeper area of the underground where more tightly knit trees stand below. The drop looks awfully devastating, enough that you hesitate as you approach the edge of the bridge to swallow down your nerves. Flowey himself still looks pale, but not because of the height of the bridge, but likely due to keeping tendrils of that other creature from rupturing from the ground below.

You suck in a breath and go to sprint across the bridge in a burst of speed.

**SNAP!**

The ropes of the bridge snap behind you just as you reach the middle of the wooden planked walkway, making you spin around to see a black tendril from the ground rising up from cracks in the snow. It has cut the rope, and you watch with a heavy heart as the rope falls and…

...Hits the ground...

…Silently?

Your body is petrified like stone, but your brow furrows and the tendril freezes as if you two are both confused. Instead of doing anything else, the tendril seems to hang there-waiting and waiting for something to happen. You probably shouldn’t be looking at it like you are now, but… It doesn’t seem like it’s the main part of that creature. Nothing has changed since you looked at the tendril, so that part of it likely doesn’t count against you or anything.

As you look over at the fallen rope of the bridge on either side of you, you realize that the planks of the bridge are actually attached to something beneath you. Another pair of ropes, maybe?

...No. In fact, if you had to make a guess, the bridge seems almost _solid_. What the heck?

“Papyrus… Painted the ground to look like a drop, you… _Idiot_ …!” The flower eventually exclaims with heavy breaths and a layer of visible sweat across their forehead. “Are you waiting for the grass to grow?! _Move…!”_

Brushing off how completely nonsensical it is to paint rock to look like a sheer drop, yet understanding the flair of Papyrus taste in _“japery”_ nonetheless, you spin around and rush away from the single tendril that seems to have absorbed what Flowey stated rather well. Shockingly enough, the tendril lets out this high pitched screeching like fingernails on a chalkboard, as if furious when some of Flowey’s vines violently wrap around it to stop it from pursuing the two of you any further.

Something about it’s reaction disturbs you for some reason… And when you realize _why_ it’s reaction is so unnerving, your forehead breaks out in a thin layer of sweat.

It’s **_intelligent._**

“Oh my god, it _understood you,”_ you blurt to the flower, watching as they tense up when they hear you.

“What?! It _did?”_ Flowey leers at you pointedly, like you’re some kind of puzzle in need of being solved. “...How do you know that for sure?”

“It’s reactions!” You state, running past a large fabric sign with christmas lights and colorful lights that reads, _‘Welcome to Snowdin!’_ “I’m not sure to what extent, but that thing is _definitely_ intelligent!”

You spring past several houses like a track runner, so _so_ grateful that Flowey is helping balance the force of your running with their own movements. Without Flowey helping direct your legs, you’d likely have fallen over by now. Your legs feel like they are _literally_ on fire. The burn is almost insane- and both joints of your knees and ankles ache tremendously. The only think keeping you up is Flowey’s assistance and direction, but even _you’re_ not sure how long that will last you at this point. How much farther to this hum? And again, if you reach it, how sure are you that you’ll be able to get out of here afterwards?

You finally pass the last stretch of houses and reach a long snowy segment where the trees break off into…

“WATER!” You chirp with a smile curling at your lips, feeling your legs veer towards the left automatically. The thought of the smooth liquid wrapping your body in it’s cold, refreshing embrace has you hypnotized.

Just as you make that turn, however, Flowey sputters in alarm and corrects you by directing you back forwards again.

“Hey, don’t just go jumping into whatever random-!”

You use all your might to veer to the left again, and the fact that you’ve already gotten closer with your first movement results in both you and the manic flower landing with a splash in the cold stream. As you hit the water, the aches in your knees and your nervous jitters ease away much to your relief. There's some frost here and there, but you hardly feel like it really bothers you. Instead, you break through the surface of the streaming water, allowing it to drag you off with the current and-

**"WHAT'S THE BIG-** _kaa-hhhk!_ **-IDEA?!"**  Flowey snarls suddenly as they turn to face you directly, only to straighten up in surprise as they stare at something down in the water. "...Wait a minute. The water...?"

Flowey seems to be connecting a few dots, but is still clearly having trouble with connecting a couple of other important details. You really don't have time to explain though, so you turn to face the direction of the stream and swim with the flower positioned high on your back and shoulders to keep from getting anymore wet. They go silent for the most part, leaving you to continue on your way through another tiny aqueduct of what appears to be brightly glowing blue crystals along the walls. Even glancing down at the water, you can see the clear stones alight the areas of your legs and feet where Flowey's vines are still attached to you. Looks like this is another one of those color affected areas, but other than the gems on the walls, everything else is just monochrome.

Wherever the creature is, it doesn't seem to know where you are now. Maybe you're in a location inaccessible to it? Or it gave up the chase? Who knows, either way you're just glad that it isn't trying to chase the two of you down anymore.

"...That thing is on a whole 'nother level of crazy," Flowey speaks up as his breathing gradually dips back to its regular pace. With a chill you can see running up their stem as you peek over your shoulder in their direction, they turn to face you with a mild scowl. "What did you do to it to make it want to kill you so badly?"

You lift your nose and mouth out of the water, having dipped it to test your previous discovery once again. "I didn't do anything to it. It's heading for the same hum I'm heading for. It could just be angry because it knows that I'm after what _it's_ after, too."

Flowey nods in understanding, obviously pondering more about this situation. "I've never seen a creature like that before. This is honestly the farthest we've ever gotten, so I've never seen _you_ either..." The flower murmurs, a signal for you to dip your face half into the water again. It's talking to itself, that much you can make out. You know how annoying it can be to have your own thoughts interjected when you're trying to piece a complex situation together, so you silently allow the flower to come to their own conclusion.

Maybe ten minutes of silence and the sound of sloshing water, you and Flowey eventually find yourselves reaching a platform of planks at the edge of a turn in the water. Figuring you've floated in the water nose down and mouth down for a good amount of time hiding from the creature following you, you grab on and haul yourself out of the water. The jarring sound of water splashing and dripping off of you makes you wince, but Flowey is more or less unaffected by the disturbance in the silence. In fact... They've been pretty silent for the most part of that ten minute trip.

"...Are you okay?" You ask, already jogging down the planks and being careful not to slip with your water soaked sneakers. Rather than sass or outright ignore you, the flower lets out a heavy sigh.

"Not really, _no_. I just don't know how I didn't notice that I was stuck here. In a place where there's no time, just like you said. I mean... Now that I think about it, how did I NOT notice?!" Flowey starts to scold themself, leafy limbs waving around at the monochrome that now wraps around the entire area. "It's like I totally forgot that things even _had_ color! It's like I totally forgot that I used to be _surrounded_ by color, color I didn't even know was there in the first place! Colors I... I really _actually_ miss _annoying_ me, and trying to be a part of my life, and-!"

Flowey seems to cut off abruptly and grab at the center of their stem, leaning forward with a violent quiver that almost makes you stop. If it weren't for the urgency to reach the humming sound, you'd stop entirely, but instead, you just turn your head to look at them and make sure they're okay. You don't ask again though, since you don't want to seem so fussy over them. This doesn't seem like the kind of pers- er... _Flower_ , that would want something like. Or like it at all, actually.

_They're not just talking about plain old "colors" are they?_  You think to yourself thoughtfully, a tingle of pity piercing your heart as you bite your lip and turn your gaze ahead. _Maybe they're talking about the same colors_ you _were pushing away and pretending they didn't exist. The ones that you're only now realizing the presence of.f_

...

The golden flower seems to stop shuddering after a moment, but makes no move to straighten up as you reach the end of the planks and walk way, reaching some tall grass that you have to push through to get to the other side. The sound of grass chafing and rustling against your clothes makes you apprehensive, but nothing pops up from the other side and nothing appears behind you.

You blow out a soundless puff of air in relief, shifting to enter a small cave area where a table sits with yet _another_ block of cheese like back in the ruins. This block of cheese has a strange layer of transparent purple weirdness over it however, and despite this, it seems like someone has managed to take a bite of the cheese in this piece as well. Across from it is a glowing blue flower that immediately catches your full attention.

"I think..." Flowey starts with a shaking breath of uncertainty as you start to walk towards the blue flower, taking a good moment to walk around it and study it's strange, ethereal structure. You've never seen a flower like this... Is it something that grew as a result of the excessive amount of magic from monsters living under here for so much time? "I _think_ I...?" Flowey speaks up a little louder, as if not really sure of what they want to say or are about to say. In your peripherals, the flower is looking around their small leafy hands with wide eyes. They look like they've made some kind of strange realization, and their eyes are alight with something you're sure you didn't see earlier in the ruins. You yourself don't really know what to make of it, and at the moment, you're still mainly staring at the other flower before you with curious wonder. How is it glowing like that?

...

_**"I think I..."**_ The blue flower wriggles a little, and the horrific thought of another homicidal flower sends you reeling backwards with your fists raised pathetically before you. Flowey looks surprised by your quick backpedaling, but as soon as they realize you've been staring at the blue flower (and are currently still eyeing it like it's about to grow arms to suffocate you), they snort with an expression of amusement. 

"What? It's not gonna _attack_ you, scaredy pants. That's an _ECHO FLOWER!"_  Flowey says, even raising their voice a little louder and making a rather adorable motion of cupping their withering leafy arms over their mouth to allow the sound to drag. The blue flower wriggles again, and in response repeats Flowey with the same tone and voice. _**"... an ECHO FLOWER!"**_

"That's creepy," you blurt out, only to make a nasty scrunched expression of horror as it repeats, **_"That's creepy."_**

_Oh, hell no._

You say nothing else and speed walk past it, hating the sound of Flowey snickering at your expense when you continuously turn to make sure the flower isn't about to uproot itself and chase after you. One already did that- you have _every_ right to be wary!

...

You stop mid step as you walk, before you realize you were about to waltz by something that was blending in almost a _little too well_  with the gray scale of the environment. As you turn to face it head on, Flowey sputters in disbelief.

"What the _hell?"_  They ask, looking around quickly to briskly scan this segment of the walk deeper into the caverns. Upon looking around, Flowey returns their gaze to stare intently at the strange door. "This is crazy...! I've never seen a door like this here! I've been all around the underground hundreds- no,  _thousands_ of times! I'm telling you, this door has never existed before!"

Something about Flowey's claims makes a chill run up your spine... But you still reach out to curl your fingers around the door handle. It looks like it's made of metal, but it doesn't _feel_ like anything metallic. In fact... It hardly feels like anything at all. It's strange, you know you're wrapping your hand around a physical object because as you squeeze it, your fingers do not phase through. However, it also feels as if there's nothing in your hand at all either. Your jumbled sensory and reasoning unnerves you as you firmly grasp the "handle". 

"...Are you sure going in there is a good idea?" Flowey asks, though they don't stop you when you hesitate... And then open the door with a loud creak, releasing it and letting it hit the wall behind it.

Looking inside... You can see a barren, empty gray scale room. It's plain and more or less uneventful. You wait for something to jump out at you, but nothing does.

...

"This is a waste of time-" Flowey begins to blurt out, until they cut themselves off when someone walks past the end of the hall leading into the room, only allowing you a quick glimpse of them. Flowey may have trouble catching all the features of their face, but you yourself do not, considering you've seen much of them lately- enough to have easily burned their features into your subconscious for the rest of your life.

"Gaster!" You call out, making a move to run into the room to get to them.

As soon as you cross the doorway, the metal door slams loudly behind you with a nerve wracking metallic echo. You yelp and turn to look at it.

"...I should have seen that coming," Flowey realizes, but rather than fuss over the door, you turn back to run into the large gray room. Looking around, you see... Nobody. Before you can call out, Flowey speaks up again. "You're in color!"

You look at Flowey when they say this, but then glance down to verify. Flowey themselves had been in color since the moment you fell and met them. You though? You were always monochrome, even when you met them. But now, as pointed by the golden flower, you are head to toe back in that coral orange neon and black tone of your active wear. Your skin is it's regular lively color, the chipped nail polish you wear even jumping out at you after so long with seeing no color on your body.

_Never mind that though,_ you think to yourself as you raise your gaze from your hands to look around the empty room. _Where am I supposed to go now?_

...

**(NAME).**

A chill runs up your spine at the static noise, which Flowey seems to not hear at all as they look around the gray room over your shoulder. You turn around entirely with purpose and feel Flowey tense up when you're met with the visible figure of Gaster, who stands in place with a relaxed expression across their skeletal features. If Flowey couldn't hear Gaster speak, they at least can see them, and by the look of it, Flowey looks horrified at the sight of the semi-melting monster.

You, however, reach out towards them carefully, watching them bring a skeletal hand up to meet yours halfway, the hole in their palm completely visible as skin meets bone. Much to your shock, it feels _exaclty_ the same as when you held the handle into this room. It's there, you're sure of it because you _see_ their hand. However... It doesn't _feel_ like it's there. It's like holding air, but physics restrain you from phasing through it.

"(Name), what are you doing?" That's the first time Flowey's ever said your name.

The gray walls disappear, as if never having been there in the first place. The expansive and unending void you see behind the walls... You can hardly even begin to describe it.

"(Name), we can still turn around, the door is _right there!"_ Flowey panicks, but you remain standing there with your hand in Gaster's. You're not sure what you're waiting for them to do, or what awaits you, but your stomach flips when you feel the ground vanish from beneath your feet. As you begin to fall, Gaster's grip around your hand relaxes and you slip away. It's an intentional relase of your hand, but considering the strange void all around as Gaster is left up above, you simply grab Flowey and bring them close to your chest to protect them despite their cursing, spitting and hissing at you.

You shouldn't trust Gaster this much. You could end up dead. You already almost died because of them.

You could end up getting Flowey killed too, it isn't just  _your_ life that you're risking.

...

You snap your eyes shut and pray that you've made the right decision.

* * *

By the time Sans and Undyne have reached Papyrus and Druella, they are standing at the edge of a river in Snowdin that Sans recognizes Ice Wolf regularly tossed ice in to cool down the CORE past Hotland. Curious enough, Sans takes a moment to wonder how the machinery down there fares without the monster's help in maintaining it.

"Why are you two dweebs all huddled up at the water's edge here?" Undyne asks, raising a single brow as she narrows her single gold eye when the two turn to face her with expressions of confusion.

"To be honest, Undyne, we have no idea, but-" Druella begins, until Papyrus blurts out from beside her with, "IT WAS MISS HUMAN! I'm absolutely sure of it!"

Sans perks up at this. "Wait, did you find her?" He asks, only for Papyrus to fidget a bit as he looks back at the stream.

"No, not exactly... However, we encountered footprints that formed in the ground! By an invisible body! Who just so happened to physically attack  _your_ station, Sans! If anyone is still infuriated with you enough to become enraged by the sight of a four month only bottle of ketchup, it _has_ to be Miss Human!" Papyrus elaborates energetically, before his expression suddenly falls as he glances back at the stream. "The footsteps stopped right here, however. They were going rather fast, but Pink Human and I were able to keep our pace with Miss Human!"

...

Sans is not quite sure how to take this news, but considering how strange it sounds, it can't be _un_ true. After all, his brother is good at being precise anyways, if it sounds ridiculous, maybe that's because it really happened that way. The mention of you getting triggered by ketchup though? Oh, if that were true as well, it would be _golden._

However... How sure _is_ Papyrus that those footsteps were undoubtedly yours?

_Sounds like it could be true still. She_ did _hurl herself off the pier the other day in her sleep. Why not hurl herself into a stream too?_

_...Okay that sounds weird any way it's put._

"Why would she jump in the stream though? I thought humans were sensitive to the cold. Our little punk Frisk was always freezing out here, even without being in water," Undyne comments, before tossing the seemingly unaffected Druella a thoughtful glance. "Are you guys just more sensitive as children? 'S that it?"

Druella looks back at Undyne.

"...Yes," she answers simply.

Sans can't help but think that she's leaving something out of that answer, but doesn't attempt to probe. Considering the last time he probed went absolutely _peachy,_ there's certainly no point in enticing Undyne's wrath once more. She said leave the human souls alone, fine, he will.

"...WAIT! Undyne, you remember Miss Human then?!" Papyrus suddenly bursts out with realization, watching as Undyne gives him a strange look and then glances back at Sans.

"Holy crap, you really _were_ telling the truth," Undyne breathes, much to Sans utmost irritation.

"You thought I was lying?" Sans asks, looking vexed by her confession until his brother jumps forward to bring Undyne into a hug she clearly does not want. She may be soft on the tall skeleton, but she definitely draws the line on cuddling him like she does with Alphys.

"Okay, okay! Yes, I remember the sassy punk, okay?! ...Chill a moment," Undyne huffs, easily worming away from Papyrus hug and smoothing her hair out. As she turns to face the river, she lets out a cough to mask the smile that wants to form at her mouth. "...If you guys say she jumped in, I'm going after her through the aqueducts too. I'll see if I can find a way to reach her or something. If you need me, just call. Alphys engineered my phone to be waterproof since I swim a lot, so I'll answer every call."

Before any of the others can convince her otherwise, Undyne dives into the water and speeds off through the current without another word.

Sans rolls his eye lights, but turns to face Papyrus and Druella. Looking at Cynthia by Druella's feet, Sans gives the curious bloodhound a look of disdain. Although peaceful around Papyrus, that dog is _definitely_ eyeing Sans' legs a little too suspiciously.

"I've got my phone on me too. I'll go look for in any secret areas she may have wandered into," Sans says, right before blipping out of existence from in front of Druella and his brother.

As soon as he is alone, standing by his old telescope in Waterfall, Sans leans back into the wall with a heavy sigh.

_Where are you, (Name)? How can I make up for being such an ass to you if you go off and disappear like this?_  He thinks, leaning back for a moment and allowing the familiar glow of blue accent his smooth bones. 

Had Sans turned to the right, he'd surely have seen the nonexistent gray door to a nonexistent room swing open to allow entry to an invisible pair, right before slamming shut with a nonexistent metal crash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *glances at time and date*  
> *curls up and hugs knees to chest trying not to cry*  
> *cries*
> 
> TmT
> 
> Note: If anyone is interested in a Papyrus/Reader one-shot of fluffness, I wrote this little story as a gift for Metamaterialgirl~!  
> [Excavator X Pap/Reader](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10885788/)  
> (Please forgive me for my lateness in updating again! ;^;
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3 ](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](href=)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)


	34. Mysterious Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up, but you're not in Waterfall anymore! Will Flowey forgive you for putting yours and their own life in jeopardy? 
> 
> On the flip side, Sans continues his search for you through Hotland, but... Is he still ON the flipside?

Chapter 34: Mysterious Doors

 

_Howdy!_

...Huh? Is there somebody here with you? It sounds... Very familiar. It makes you feel safe.

That's weird, the only person that's ever truly made you feel this way (as far as you remember) is Lucette, but to this day, you haven't seen neither hide or hair of the brown haired woman you used to spend so much time with. Not to mention that she's Deaf and mute, something that logically would never change. That being said, who is the owner of _this_ voice?

Furthermore, where is _"here"_ exactly?

_Can you hear me? You look like you took a rather rough tumble from up there. Are you able to stand up?_

Stand up? ...Now that you think about it, you can't really feel your legs or anything. You feel like you're floating in water.

Trying to lift an arm or leg results in a distorted sense of something being moved- despite that it still feels like there's nothing there. An uncomfortable mental itch makes itself known in your head.

_No? That quite alright then. You should probably wake up now though. There is somebody waiting for you out there!_

Wake up? As in... You're asleep? Who's talking to you? And who is it they're talking about when they say there's someone "waiting" for you?

_Before you do... Would you please tell me your name?_

And so you do.

_Oh, so you are called (Name)? What an intriguing title! ...I guess I ought to introduce myself too, right? Well... My  n a m e    i   s   ...._

* * *

You sit up with an abrupt startled gasp, sending small streams of water all over the place when your body begins to wobble dangerously atop a large floating plank of wood. This loss of balance atop the plank, which you'd somehow been laid out over, sends your arms pinwheeling as you try to regain balance... And fail.

**SPLASH!**

You surface quickly in the shallow water on your hands and knees, wiping water from your eyes with your arm and taking deep breaths as you run a hand through your bangs. As you sit back on your knees, you mentally replay the words from your auditory dream with much consideration. Was that voice conjured up by your imagination? Or did you really hear it from another person? If so, who was it?

"It's about _time,_ you clumsy meat bag!" A voice snaps from behind your head, making you flinch and swing around until a face framed by six golden petals leans around you so you can make eye contact with their furious scowl of barely kempt rage. As your eyes catch the shadow that creeps over their face, you shrink back with guilt.

What did you do to make the Flowey so...?

...Oh. Oh that's right.

They were begging you to leave that room with Gaster. Though... Going back to the door at the time didn't seem like much of an option to you back in that room anyways. It had slammed shut behind you, usually that signifies it won't open again, right?

Although... You probably should have checked anyways. It _could_ have been opened. Now you'll never know, since it's in the past. On the bright side, at least the two of you are alright!

Flowey glares at you a little longer, but after a second, backs their stem away to cough and side glance down at the water beside you. You watch with a mildly baffled expression across your face as the golden flower turns a shade of red before you, They were glaring you in the eye seconds ago with murderous intent, but now they focus their stare on the water with strange intensity as they mumble something under their breath. You can barely make out what they're trying to say.

"...What?" You ask, making the flower scowl a little more at the water before mumbling a little louder. Unfortunately, you still have no idea what they're trying to say to you, and you scrunch your face up in your confusion, leaning a bit closer to see if you can hear them with a little more proximity.

The flower takes a peek up at you to see if you've understood, but as soon as they catch your dumb expression, they shoot daggers your way.

"I said _THANK YOU!_  Did you hear me now, or do I need to get in there and clean out your ears Flowey-style?!" The flower immediately threatens with a bloodthirsty snarl, raising four thorned vines from beneath the water's surface to point them all in your direction menacingly.

You jump at first, but considering the fact that you _know_ this flower is still interested in figuring out this mystery revolving you, this colorless place, and Gaster, you know they're just bluffing at this point.

Unfortunately... That still really isn't enough to take _all_ of the fear away, and you make an effort to look casual as you stare at their demonic expression.

"...Did you put me on that board I woke up on?" You ask suddenly, changing the subject and disregarding their threat until they irritably deflate in response at you lack of displayed fear.

"Yeah, so maybe I did. And? Don't let it go to your head, you've nearly gotten me killed a handful of times already," Flowey grumbles, crossing their wilted leaf arms. "I only did it so you wouldn't drown or anything... What with you pathetic humans needing oxygen to live and whatnot."

You raise a brow and tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, before you try to casually inform Flowey of one of your recent discoveries. "Actually... I can't drown."

_Although I haven't exactly tested just_ how _long I can remain underwater without air, so that might not be true. I should probably time myself on that as soon as I get out of here._

_..._

If _I get out of here,_ you think with a slight cringe of uncertainty. It's such a sour thought to have, but hey, no one ever said you were an optimist, did they?

Flowey turns to face you with a dubious raised brow ridge. "...Excuse me?"

Just to prove it and avoid any confusion, you duck into the water and sit huddled on your knees and haunches, staring at the four vines Flowey has yet to dismiss under the water. You have to brace yourself on either side of the duct-like structure with your legs to keep the water from leading you on without permission, but after a couple of minutes (you're even counting, so you _know_ how long it's been), Flowey ducks their head under the water to see your progress. Wide eyes meet yours as you stare back with little to no panic in your eyes.

**'I could stay down here longer if I wanted,'** you sign to the flower after another few beats passes, only pulling yourself out of the water with Flowey after you've finished getting your point across. "And if you didn't realize it, though I'm sure you probably already did, the water is what healed my leg before. And my fatigue afterwards."

Soaked head to toe and petal tips to stem, you and Flowey engage in a long staring contest as you wait for them to say something. It looks like they're reevaluating you all over again... So you add in a few more tidbits via Undyne's own observations.

"Undyne told me I might have magic... Though I'm not really sure about it just yet. I mean, all I can do is heal myself with water exposure. She first thought I had premonition magic or something due to the fact that I was getting so many weird dreams from Gaster, but I'm starting to think it extends past just that," I add, leaving Flowey to absorb the information before standing up to get moving again.

Standing, you're about thigh deep in the cold water, and it isn't until you look around that you realize you and Flowey are no longer in the same place as you were before.

Instead, what you're met with are the shimmering share of dark metallic walls and purple funnels making a winding pattern along the lowermost portions with the same warping shades as all the colors you've seen have already been doing.

Very unlike Waterfall's area, you gawk for a few seconds and begin shuffling through the water to find a path outside of the water duct.

"What is this place? How'd we get here?" You ask, causing Flowey to snort behind you as you look around. When you finally regard them again as you walk, the flower is wearing an indignant and cocky expression on their face, clearly prepared to boast their knowledge on the underground to you.

For some strange reason... This area is kind of familiar to you. It's giving you this freaky deja vu feeling, as if you've previously seen it in a dream of yours. Although, the current temperature does not feel familiar at _all._ In fact, the heat and steam is almost maddening at this point, screwing around with your head in ways you're definitely not comfortable with.

"For starters, this is the CORE. It's one of the deepest points of the Underground, just past Waterfall and Hotland. Passing the CORE, you can get to the Underground's capital- New Home," Flowey informs you, making you raise a single brow as you examine the strangely designed walls of the wide and tall aqueduct you're currently walking down. It looks as if this specific duct your in was meant to carry more than just water- making enough room to carry something around _your_ size with the waterworks.

"Waterfall, Hotland, The CORE, and New Home..." You murmur to yourself thoughtfully, recalling Undyne once laughing her ass off over the memory of King Asgore's terrible name choices. Of course, Waterfall, Hotland, and New Home are rather bland, but the CORE kind of sounds fitting... What does the place do anyways? "I know what you're thinking just by that stupid expression on your face~"

You shoot Flowey a dry look, but wait for them to elaborate if they really _do_ know what you're thinking about. As they note your expression of expectancy in receiving an answer, Flowey seems to fluff up their petals and grin rather smugly. They kind of remind you of your kitten brownie, who becomes just as indignant and proud whenever you show them too much attention.

"The CORE is what regulates magic throughout the Underground to help create diverse living residencies, such as the snow in Snowdin, the ever replenishing and cycling water of Waterfall, and the lava environment in Hotland. Also, it helps power up the underground so we can use social networks like Undernet or use phone capabilities to call one another," Flowey fills in like a kid showing off their knowledge, nearly earning a snicker of amusement out of you as you tread through the water quickly.

"Okay, so that explains the CORE, but... How did we get here in the first place?" You ask again, watching as Flowey's proud grin morphs into that of an irritated demonic snarl at the flick of a switch. You're not saying you're a chicken or anything, but honestly, that expressively evil face that they make? It flipped you the fuck out before, and it's flipping you the fuck out right _now_.

"GEE, I don't _know!_ Maybe it has to do with falling into an endlessly dark pit after getting trapped by some freaky monster you _clearly_ barely know and dragging a certain lovable flower along for the ride?" Flowey shrugs in an exaggerated manner. "I guess it's just a mind boggling mystery, _ain't it?!"_

You visibly shrink back from Flowey's face.

_Hng, obviously they're still sore over that thing right? Well, I can't blame them, I_ did _completely ignore them in favor of getting answers for myself... That was very selfish of me, they've got every right to be angry._

You eventually shift your gaze elsewhere to calm nerves and let out a heavy sigh, nodding in agreement with the flower as soon as that freaky face of theirs is no longer being shoved in your line of sight. "Fine, you're right. That was wrong of me to ignore you like I did. I can't just go throwing myself at danger with you along for the ride, but I did it anyways knowing it was wrong. I'm sorry I put you in that position and I have no excuses. I'll be more careful should an event like that arise again, Flowey," you admit with a slight wince of uneasiness as you turn to look back at Flowey's terrifying expression. As soon as you've finished your apology and have turned to look at them again, you catch the flower's expression relaxing into something bordering both confusion and shock. Are they really _that_ surprised that you've apologized to them? ...Then again, you are a bit of a bristling cactus by nature. You're gonna have to accept that people are going to make judgements based on your appearance, and you'll have to deal with it whether or not you agree. Maybe with a little more effort in the "social" quadrant of your personality, you can find a way to change the minds of a couple passerbyers willing to give you a chance.

"Oh. Well, alright then...! Glad we've come to an understanding of sorts! In fact, you're better off just listening to me entirely altogether. I do know a _lot_ more about the underground than you do, after all," Flowey tries to push for more power, only causing you to scrunch your nose in warning at them as you bristle slightly.

"No. And don't try to push it, I'm not easily guilt tripped into doing things," you state firmly, causing the flower to roll their eyes and turn to cross their leafy arms in response.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, there's a nagging little voice reminding you of how Alphys and Papyrus managed to guilt before you with little to no effort on their parts, if any _at all_ , but hey- not like _Flowey_ knows that. You'll just pretend those two things never happened for now.

It's just as you notice the other end of the aqueduct increasing in illumination that you begin to move faster through the water, until you find yourself standing at a slippery edge of the end of the aqueduct, which has water flowing straight out into a white and steamy bottomless drop. The steam is hot and uncomfortable, so you look across towards the path ahead that you can likely swing to with Flowey's assistance.

You pull back an arm and throw it out in the direction of a sturdy pipe. As if completely in sync with your intentions, Flowey's vines snap outwards in the intended direction and wrap around the exact pipe you had in mind with a firm knot, making you smile a little as you step forwards along the edge of the duct quickly and swing out from the aqueduct with Flowey's assistance, a couple of their vines already having moved down a little to hold you tightly by your waist. As soon as you safely land on the other side with a graceful bend of your knees to absorb the momentum, Flowey retracts their vines from the pipe and your waist, giving you a thoughtful once-over.

"Huh. I'm surprised you _actually_ made that jump. I guess you're not as clumsy as I originally took you for," Flowey comments over your shoulder thoughtfully.

It isn't until then that you realize you don't feel the flower's vines twitching or shifting around your shoulders or neck, making you reach up curiously to pat at your skin in confusion. Well, if the flower isn't hanging on you by _that_ area, where are they settled then? 

"Your hair band broke, so I'm substituting as it for you. _You're welcome,"_  your companion mutters by your ear, while you take in this update and reach back to touch their stem as they hold your hair in a bun behind your head.

"Hm," you hum thoughtfully, directing your attention to the much louder hum that rises around you almost in response to your musical cue. Your eyes widen in realization, shocked by this change volume as it hits the dark metallic walls and echoes around you unrestrained. "We're close. _Really_ close!"

"Are we really?" Flowey inquires, while looking around with studious leers. "By the way... Why are only a few things in color and other things not? I mean... You're still in color, but before we saw Gaster, you were completely monochrome."

You look down at yourself, taking Flowey's words to consideration. Finding no real answer as to why you're in color, you look back up at them and shrug as you walk down the hallway, only stopping to listen closely to the hum as it leads you deeper into the CORE.

"I noticed a little before I fell down here that there were a few colors above on the surface as well. There's actually a more color here than there is over out there, but I don't know what it means. Gaster hasn't mentioned anything about it, and as far as I know, they seem to be the only one that really knows what's going on. I wouldn't be down here if it wasn't for them telling me to follow the humming that I seem to only be hearing," you state, watching as Flowey's expression immediately dips into the same expression a person makes when being nagged or bothered.

"Yeah, yeah, you've mentioned that a few _hundred_ _times_ already," Flowey huffs with a scowl of disdain. Half of you is unsure about whether you're offended by the flower's behavior, or amused by it. In the end, however, you let them get away with it and just shrug in response. Maybe it's better if you just don't talk. You've gotten through most of your life without uttering all that many words, and Wonder Kid seems to be doing just find themselves. "What I still don't understand is why you're following his every order to a 'T' without really questioning anything. I mean... What kind of person throws a friend into that freaky slime creature's line of sight like that? Either this is very important, or you're just a dispensable errand girl."

The sting brought on by Flowey's words strangely impact you lot stronger than even _you_ believe it should, and you bite your tongue when you immediately feel the need to defend youself and Gaster. Flowey definitely has a point though, and you can see how it would make sense. You really don't want to believe that you're dispensable though- even _after_ the hell you've already been through for the last few hour or two.

"Yeah," you respond with a hollow tone of discontent, avoiding the flower's gaze when they look to see why your tone has dropped like that.

"...You're kind of weird, you know? The least you could do is _try_ to show some understanding in the concept of self-preservation," Flowey huffs, which is rather surprising since they tried to kill you no more than three hours ago... You think. Honestly, at this point, you're not really sure how much time has passed. It feels like it's been forever, but still recent.

Weird.

"I'm sorry I'm prone to putting myself in dangerous situations, flower that tried to strangle me to death and took advantage of me having a severely mangled hamstring," you respond with an excessively salty tone that immediately has the flower by your head shrinking back against it's stem with a grumpy scowl.

"Yeah, okay, _I'm sorry_ about earlier. Look, I'm prone to that kind of thing because I'm a little unstable. Don't tell me you haven't realized that by now, I've noticed the weird looks you've been giving me when I say questionable stuff." The flower gives you another side glance, relaxing their features. You can see the amount of hope that floats around in their beady eyes, as if expecting bad news and also praying for something better. "...Are you sure you still want me up on the surface with you? Inside your house where you sleep? I could snap at any moment. Your life, and the life of anyone you live with, could end if I lose my temper or get any foul _ideas._ Regardless of water healing you, however the hell it does that, I don't think it can bring you back from the _dead."_

That's a valid concern that Flowey has, but you just roll your eyes and make the same expression and huff the flower made previously when mentioning Gaster.

Flowey bristles slightly at the mirrored expression from before.

"If I can jump down a hole and follow orders from someone that could quite possibly care less about whether or not I live or die, then I think I can house a homicidal golden flower with an inflated ego and such an astounding narcissism that it puts Napoleon Bonaparte's to shame," you snort with little amusement, only stopping as you reach a crossroads to hear the acoustics within the CORE in this area warp the sound of the humming.

"...Neapolitan Bonita-what-now?" Flowey inquires, but at this point, you no longer hear them as you listen carefully to the hum.

_It's so close, but... Where exactly_ IS _it?! Why is this so difficult?_

You spin around to look down every extended hall and reach up to clean your ears a little, only to groan and start wiping at your forehead as it collects sweat from the steam of the CORE. You can hardly see down any path, it's so hot that your skin is prickling, and you want to shamelessly rip your clothes off. You'd probably have already taken a layer or two off it it weren't for this flower in your hair-

_Oh, to hell with it! They're a flower anyways, it seems hardly likely that they'd actually even_ care _about a half naked human!_

You only raise the bottom hem of your thick tank top a few inches from your sweaty skin before you're rewarded with a soft airy breeze (where the hell is that coming from down here??) that grazes your stomach. A soft sigh of relief escapes you as you haul the rest of the garment off, Flowey even shifting closer to your head as you whip the neckline from around your collar. "God, why is this place like a damn sauna? I'm going to get a heatstroke down here!"

"Just it's _like_ a sauna doesn't mean you should shamelessly disrobe like you would in one," Flowey jabs with casual nonchalance, making you shoot them a sour glare. "Not to mention doing it in front of the opposite gender- talk about exhibitionism..."

"Opposite gender? So you're a boy flower then?" You inquire curiously. This is probably the point you should be whipping your shirt back on, but you _really_ don't want to end up passing out...

Flowey's expression almost immediately turns to that of offense. "What, it wasn't immediately obvious?! I'm not a _girl!"_ Flowey snaps as if being female is only the most heinous curse of life.

You put your hands on your hips and give them the sharpest look of your own irritation that you can muster, watching as they meet your glare with one of their own. "What's wrong with being a girl?"

"Girls are overzealous in everything they do."

"What? _You're_ overzealous in everything you do!"

"I am _not!"_  Flowey hisses, only to receive an indignant leer on your part.

"You puffed up like you were practically a _rooster_  when I asked you to explain what the CORE was," you point out, watching Flowey grind their teeth furiously.

_**...Hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...** _

Your attention is abruptly brought away from the small argument as you look around when the hum intensifies in sound, prompting you to walk to each entrance of the halls around you and listen carefully. Flowey's snapped something in the time you've refocused on the hum, but rather than pay attention to him, you press your ears to the wall to listen carefully.

_It sounds like it's coming... From behind me,_ you think, pushing off the wall and striding to the hallway on the opposite side of the hallway you're currently standing in. As you get to the other side, you repeat your actions from the other end and press your ear back to the wall once more.

...

Now it sounds like it's coming from back at the opposite end of the hall.

With a frustrated scowl, you repeat pressing your ears to the wall as you get to the other remaining two portions of the four way crossing, only to scratch your head when it sounds like the hum emits from behind you in all directions.

At this point, you walk to the middle of the intersection and scratch your head, Flowey uncharacteristically quiet as you try to figure out this puzzle. You know every second counts, that slime creature is likely getting closer while you're over here scratching your ass and waiting for an answer to show up, but thankfully your companion has chosen to give you the silence you need to think things over.

...

...

The hum is louder here where you're standing.

As you process this, you slowly get down on your knees and lean down, pressing your ear against the metalling floor nervously.

...

The moment your ear meets the metal, you hear the hum loud and clear- as if someone is singing to you on the opposite side with their lips just a few inches away.

"Here," you say out loud, hands braced against the floor curiously.

You're having that deja vu feeling again, but you can't remember ever doing something like this before in real life- not to mention that you've never even been down in the underground before.

As if posessed, your fingers start to crawl around carefully on the floor as if on autopilot, feeling the grooves of the metal ground at the tips of your fingers. Your eyes snap shut as you find a groove on the ground that's a lot deeper and attention grabbing to your touch sensory than the other lines, making you run your fingerpad over it a few times before following up its length. After a few seconds, your finger dips along a shallow ridge into a circular groove on the ground that pushes in like a button under your the pressure you apply to your dragging finger.

The sound of clicking and metal against metal makes you flinch back up in a seated position to see where your finger has landed, only to gape as you see it pressing down on an inconspicuous design of the metallic flooring that barely stands out due to the fact that there are so many other dips and grooves in the same pattern on the ground around you.

"What did you...?" Flowey inquires, but falls silent as the ground beneath you quivers a little, making you jump to your feet and back up until you can see the platform along the ground slowly dip lower from different grooves you hadn't even _realized_ were present along with the purely design based groves already etched in the metal. "How'd you know that button was there?"

You shake your head but don't answer him, leaning down a bit closer to see if you can catch a glimpse of what's down there as the rectangular platform slides under the flooring beheath it. Is it dangerous? Is the hum coming from a monster or animal down there? What is it?

**_...Hhhhmmmmmmmmmmm..._ **

You've come this far already... Might as well continue down at this point.

You swallow down your nerves and inhale deeply as the rectancular platform beneath the center of the intersection finishes sliding open, lifting a leg and placing it within the dark hole, only to flinch as your foot finds contact with something to steady your weight. You honestly expected to drop right in, but as soon as your foot meets ground, lights from below come to life and illuminate a stairway down to a very dirty and white room below. From where you stand, you can already see a few mechanical instruments and science equipment that you're certain has something to do with the CORE itself. It doesn't _look_ like there's anything living down there... So maybe the hum is coming from a machine that Gaster thinks is imperative you shut down? And maybe leaving it on could cause a nuclear fallout if the equipment fails, which might end up wiping out Ebott Creeks city if you don't turn it off?

Curiosity piqued even more, you follow the hum down the stairs until you're able to take in the entirety of what is beneath the secret passageway. Behind you, the floor closes up once more, and both you and Flowey disappear beneath the CORE into a room that likely exists about as much as the last room in Waterfall did.

* * *

 

Sans lets out a grumble as he kicks the foot of his old telescope around in Waterfall, making the loose socket above the tripod's feet twist around to face him. There's dry red paint around the eyepiece, just as he left it four months ago when Frisk fell for his trick in getting a red blotch of paint around their eye.

This is actually his second visit to the telescope after searching around for you in Waterfall's entirety. Papyrus, Druella, and her mutt are probably going to reach this area soon, so it's probably best that he go check out Hotland. Lord knows Undyne will avoid that overwhelmingly humid place entirely, and as a skeleton, Sans has a pretty good resistance to intense temperatures.

_...Alright then,_  Sans thinks, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and ready to teleport into Hotland.

** THHUNK! **

Sans' neck whips around in surprise at the loud metal sound of a door beind slammed, turning around and making a face of confusion as he is met with the sight of an open gray door.

It's been thrown open, the jarring sound coming from the metal against the rocky wall behind it as it rebounds and slowly starts to drift close... Before stopping only slightly adjar. 

It's just a random door in Waterfall...

But it's also a door Sans has, for the life of him, never seen before.

...Maybe. Something about it tickles his mind with familiarity though, but it's not like the deja vu he gets from memories of a previous "reset". This is different, it's honestly like something from way, _way_ further than a reset. In fact... It might even _predate_ resets from the underground altogether. Either way, Sans halts the buildup of teleportation magic within his ribcage as he stares at the door, which beckons him to approach with it's mere existence.

_That's never been there before, I'm sure of it. I patrolled this area enough times to have noticed it before when underground- so how is it that it's here right now? No monsters live down here... Asgore cleaned this place out for everyone's benefit- whether they wanted to integrate with human society or not,_ Sans thinks, strolling on over to it and leaning around the door to look inside. Much to Sans' immediate shock, he spots an unmoving figure standing smack in the middle of a grayscale room. He's immediately unnerved by the lack of the figure's movement- small movements that every living creature makes subconsciously. The fact that the figure ahead is not twitching at all is odd in both humans and monsters alike. Nothing living is _ever_ that still. Is it maybe a statue?

Sans pulls a hand out of his pocket and pushes the door open a bit, stepping around the door and entering the gray room, Sans unease only grows more and more.

The figure standing smack in the middle of the room looks like a porcelain figure with a sandy-like consistency to their darker black body beneath their white face and hands, appearing to melt into the ground in a quicksand like appearance.

Their hands and face, however, do not look like they're melting. They have one eye in a crescent and cracks on their face, a strange sad grin on their face as they stare back at the approaching intact skeleton monster wearing a blue hoodie.

_This looks like... How (Name) described that Static guy to look like in her diary_. _Is this the thing that's been visiting her in her dreams? The one that's been bothering her?_

Sans sharpens a glare on the melting figure as he stops a reasonable seven feet away. The figure doesn't move.

...

"You alive over there?" Sans inquires, lifting his hand to wave in the other creatures face. It's when he reaches out a bit that the creature's head snaps up to look at him, making Sans backpedal a foot at the sudden movement it makes. His eye sockets are wide as he takes in the creature's dim eye lights within their sockets, looking right back at Sans with unnerving familiarity. As if having a minor boost of bravery from the familiarity, Sans moves to take a step closer-

**THHHUNK!**

Sans jerks and spins around again, horrified at the thought of being locked in here with the strange creature. Much to his surprise, the door has been thrown open again, and it's leading out to Waterfall once 8more... Only monochrome?

_What? Wait, what happened? Why is-?_

Should he really be looking away from the strange creature behind him right now?

Sans turns again in alarm, ready to fight anything off with his left eye light flaring to a sharp cyan and gold hue. To his disbelief, the empty gray room is empty. There's no trace of the person he believes to be Static, not even leftover sandy slime residue in the place they were once standing unmovingly.

Sans, wanting to get the hell out of there and away from Static, turns and speedwalks out of the room. Turning to look back at the room once more, his nonexistent stomach plummets when he sees nothing but a gray wall behind him, the texture of stone and lighter shades of twinkling gems greeting his eye lights.

It's like the door wasn't even fucking there in the _first place._

The blue clad skeleton shivers uneasily and looks around Waterfall with his eyelights, only to frown at the hue of red jumping out in the suddenly monochrome environment from his old telescope again.

Why is that the only color jumping out at him? Why is everything suddenly colorless?

...Forget it, at least it's still Waterfall. He needs to find-

**Beep! Borp! Beep!**

Sans looks down at his smartphone at the sound of a new notification, pulling it from his pocket to open it up. As soon as he sees that it's from you, _"Sweet-Tart",_ he activates the notification and opens up his messaging app upon the prompt, pressing the phone screen almost a little too eagerly to get to whatever you've apparently sent him.

The message thread under your name opens.

_'...I wouldn't be messaging you if I wasn't this desperate, please tell me you're getting this message, Sans'_

Sans feels his stomach churn at the thought that you've been pushed to the point of sending _him_ a message, searching for comfort in someone you hardly trust or respect for valid and understandable reasons. Before Sans can message anything back, another message pops up.

_'...Are none of you able to hear me?'_

Sans brow bones knit together in anxiety, and before he knows it, his skeletal phalanges are skating and tapping across his phone screen like they're posessed.

_'(name), you there? where are you? paps and i came down mt. ebott with undyne and your pal dru to find you, are you ok?'_

Minutes pass, but as they tick by, there's no response on your end. Sans only grows even more anxious, and immediately hits the dial button to call you instead.

It doesn't even ring.

It just goes straight to voicemail, so your phone is probably dead or something.

On the other hand, maybe you're _not_ okay and Sans has every reason to start panicking right now.

Sans hardly thinks to rest at this point, teleporting on to the entrance of Hotland with little to no hesitation. He's tired as hell, but knows he'll regret it if he goes and takes a nap before you're found.

And thus, his search in this strangely monochrome painted underground continues. All the while, he retains his hold on his phone in case you call and he needs to answer immediately, checking the screen every moment he can out of sheer impatience and concern for your well being.

Thirty minutes later and he feels he is no closer to finding you than he was before, already passing through Alphys lab and past most of the Hotland elevators into Mettaton's MTT Resort. 

The riduculous Mettaton fountain continues to spew water onto the ground outside of it's rightful place as it had when Sans lived down there, but other than a dry chuckle, Sans just shoves his hands in his pocket and walks towards the hotel rooms to check in every nook and cranny. Maybe you're taking a nap, right? After all, you went a whole day with _only_ a nap. You should have gotten sleep the moment you got back home but _no_. You had to go strolling into the night after some suspicious light show and get yourself in this whole mess of a-!

Sans stops walking to take a deep breath. No, that's all wrong. If he manages to find you and he starts blaming it all on you, you're likely not going to take that well. You're indignant towards him by nature, and will likely be even more hostile if he starts pointing fingers like that. You hate him aleady, he doesn't need to give you another reason to add more strikes to his name.

As much as Sans wants to blame you, because lets be honest, you should have _known_ not to go out following strange lights at this time of night, you will not want to hear that. On the other hand, Sans should know how curious humans tend to be- even more so than monster kind, actually. He had his experiences with Frisk's curiosity as well as Alan's inquisitiveness regarding monsters, so you chasing after those lights? You yourself were probably fully aware of the irresponsability in your actions, but you did it anyways because you _had_ to find out.

Sans makes his way to the rooms and takes down both doors with little effort using his magic, the slam of the material hitting the ground as he moves things around in the first room... And then moves things in the second room with his magic. When he finds nothing in either room, he turns to leave the hall and check the ministore and the famous broken elevator to the MTT Resort.

Inside the mini mart, there's nothing but grub thrown around in all directions. Approaching the counter to check behind for any sign of you, Sans is met with the sight of several claw marks embedding the walls, materials, and tools within. Almost everything looks like it's been handled with much more force than necessary, cups, spoons and forks of paper and plastic bent out of shape and scattered around the counter in a messy fashion.

_Damn, Burgs, why the hell did you even stay employed under Mettaton for so long if he was that much of a horrible boss...?_  Sans wonders to himself with a raised brow bone of interest, pushing away from the counter to move his search to the elevator by the entrance of the mini mar-

** Ding~! **

Sans jumps back from the elevator in alarm as it rings, hands raised as he prepares himself for the worst.

His white eye lights fade and his cyan-gold iris lights up again in his left eye socket as the metal doors to the elevators pop open to reveal...

... _?_

_...You?_

Shocked at the sight of the girl he's thought about torturing in the past, and thought about apologizing to now in the present, Sans freezes up completely like a statue, staring at the visibly human eyes of you as you step out of the elevator with leisured footsteps, only stopping to look at Sans through the curtain of your long hair when you notice him there. Your hair blows a bit in the still functioning air conditioning of the MTT Resort, hanging loose around your shoulders as you face Sans with a calm expression of ease. 

For some reason, Sans finds his knees weak to your appearance and direct gaze on him, enough that he has to physically reach up and grab at his upper ribs to make sure he doesn't burst from the inside. His soul feels like jumping right out of his chest, but he really doesn't know why. All he knows is that you're safe. 

A quickl glance over your figure, past your gray accented excersice pants and tank top, and your long hair, there appears to be nothing wrong with you, other than the fact that you're monochrome colored exactly like he is. You're not even sweating, despite the uncomfortable heat you likely had to face to get here. Were you resting in the mostly inaccessible second floor for a while? Enough that you got over the heat of Hotland?

"Hey," Sans says with a warm smile of relief.

You cock your head to the side a little, and blink at him slowly. You look like you're seeing him for the first time, but Sans says nothing and waits for some positive reaction at finding him following such an unnerving text message from earlier. Are you happy to see him? Considering your desperation, Sans wouldn't be surprised if-

You take a quick step towards him and wrap your arms around his neck with unrestrained zeal, immediately sending shivers up and down Sans' entire body at your sudden proximity. His face tints a severe shade of blue, enough that he's horrified by his reaction and immediately works to relax his embarrassment as you press against him and... Inhale his scent?

"Hey..." You reply with a breathy exhale, making Sans' bones rattle a bit. With a few more beats that he doesn't respond to your embrace... He finally brings himself to wrap his arms around you and relax against you, despite his every bone screaming at him that this is very strange behavior from you.

...Who cares though?

_You're **okay**._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for those of you that do not follow my Tumblr, I had to delay this chapter due to insufficient content and time in making the content. My dad is recovering from a stroke and most of my time is mostly being spent taking care of him to get him back into tip top shape. He's spend most of today napping, but with some extra care and positivity, me and my family are going to help him get better <3
> 
> I apologize again for the wait, so hopefully you enjoy this new chappy! I'll see you guys next Saturday!
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)


	35. Brainwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne struggles to retain her memory, while Papyrus contemplates how to get the others not to treat him like a kid. On the flipside, Sans deals with you, and you deal with a hidden room in the CORE.

Chapter 35: Brainwork

 

Undyne breaks through the surface of the water and pushes out onto the edge of a planked walkway just out by the border between Waterfall and Hotland, frowning as she hauls herself above the water and-

"UGH!" Undyne shouts, her single gold slitted eye widening as a sharp pressure between her temples makes itself known. Her magic seems to fluctuate within her body as she gasps and struggles to take a seat on the edge of the planks to recuperate, breathing heavily and pressing a hand against her forehead.

Seconds pass in which she presses her hand against her forehead, and by the time the pain settles, Undyne is staring ahead at a wall and quivering as she stands up.

She was going to do something right now, but she can't remember exactly _what_ she going to do. She's in the underground, that much she's certain. She's here for a specific reason, although she can't remember how she even got down there in the first place.

Who came down here with her? Why does her head feel so awful and _scrambled_ like this? How long has she been down here?

**Rrring~!**

Undyne reaches down to her pocket to pull out her cellphone, looking to the sixteen bit screen and answering the phone when she sees who it is.

"Papyrus!" Undyne blurts out, half relieved at the comfort his call brings her. Not that she'd ever tell him this to his face, of course.

_"Greetings, Undyne! We have concluded our search in Waterfall, but I am afraid we found nothing pertaining to Miss Humans whereabouts! Nor have we seen anymore invisible manifestations of her either! I attempted to inform my brother of this, but he is not picking up. Has he contacted you recently?"_

Undyne swallows thickly. Why does this situation seem so familiar to her...? And what about it is so shame inducing to cause her to not want to admit to Papyrus that she has no recollection of ever hearing that he had a brother? Although... She can clearly remember a face and name regarding this "Miss Human" he speaks of finding...

...Yeah, that's right. She's down here looking for (Name), who went missing earlier tonight. But Papyrus' brother? ...He has a _brother?_

Something in her nerves screams at her not to say anything to the tall skeleton though, lest she upset Papyrus for not knowing what he is talking about. She wants answers, but at the same time... 

Maybe she can find them herself. Especially if her memory is being all screwy like this. Has this already happened before? It feels too familiar to be the first time this has happened, considering she knows she's down here for a reason- it's just that she can't remember _how_ she got there.

"...Yeah! Um, I'm still looking around though. Your bro's fine and everything, no sweat, punk! Listen, can I call you back later? Gotta keep my focus up, ya know?" Undyne answers brightly in her usual fashion, pretending that all's ok when frankly she has no real idea what sort of threat there is. "By the way... Seen anything else weird on your end?"

_"Huh? Oh, not really! It has been mostly calm through Waterfall- save for Cynthia getting in a barking war against an echo flower. My communications device is going to die soon, so when you call me later, please use Druella's phone number! I am sending it via a text message, so you should be getting it right about-!"_

**Ping!**

Undyne nods in confirmation, despite Papyrus being unable to see her. At least she knows who he is talking about when he mentions Druella and her dog guard, Cynthia. "I got it, Paps. I'll talk to you later!"

Undyne pulls the phone from her ear and hangs up immediately, before he can attempt to say anything else or voice that he _has_ anything else to say. Sitting on the wooden planks with her feet in the water, Undyne holds her phone in her lap quietly and contemplates to herself in thought.

Missing memories aside, she has somewhat of a gist of the situation after hearing what Papyrus had to say during their phone call. She decides to disregard the fact that there is one monster she can't remember involved in the situation, and focuses on the reasoning that if Papyrus _says_  he exists, then Papyrus MUST have a brother.

First and foremost, Undyne has memory loss. What can she attribute this to? She remembers her most recent headache to the smallest detail- enough to know that there was no outside physical force to have caused her such a bad migraine. In that case... Could it be the work of magic? 

It seems far fetched to think so, considering only _monsters_ know magic. Humans have long since lost the ability to harness magic like they could in the past, so that's _also_ very unlikely. Monsters do not attack other monsters with the intent of honest hostility- that's... _unnatural_ for them.

...Now comes the tough part.

What can Undyne _do_ about it?

...

The fish woman hauls herself to her feet, scales gently scraping the wood of the planks as she drags her feet over the edge and trails water along the surface. She flicks her eyes in all directions and preps a spear at hand to light her way and give her extra security. There's no doubt in her mind regarding the conclusion she's come to, with the limited information that she has.

_There's something else down here other than a human or monster._

* * *

 

Papyrus pulls his smartphone from his skull in time to see the screen flash in warning with a battery, just before it shows the logo of the mobile device's brand and shuts off on him.

"Drat. My communications device has passed on," Papyrus comments, right before taking a peek ahead at where Druella is kneeling with Cynthia. The three of them are standing in a corridor where a once functioning LED panel with the scrolling text to welcome visitors to Hotland now displays nothing in particular.

Druella, unaware of the world, is giving her bloodhound a thorough petting and scratching with a smidgen of a smile at her lips.

Delighted by the subtle expression on her face, Papyrus takes his time walking the few feet of space between them before he reunites with the two. Druella always seems so stone faced that one can hardly tell if she emotes whatsoever, so to see her enjoying a brief moment with her canine is rather charming for the tall skeleton as he steps within Druella's hearing range, causing her smile to face back to that emotionless template when she turns to look at her taller companion.

Much to Papyrus' surprise, there's still a subtle smile in her eyes, regardless of her flat expression of expectancy.

"Undyne stated she has been in contact with Sans and that he is doing fine. Although... I wonder why he would answer her and not me," Papyrus admits, shifting his gaze towards the side as if it will conceal the fact that this makes him mildly upset.

"Hm. Maybe he found something he thinks will upset you and told Undyne about it instead to spare your feelings?" Druella suggests, touching her chin thoughtfully.

Papyrus feels a stab of aggravation pelt him in his rib cage at her comment, but releases a hefty sigh and nods in reluctant agreement. Figures she _too_ would see him in a similar light as Sans, Undyne, and the others do... 

Must he change his cheerful and upbeat personality to make everyone take him seriously? Should he purge his happiness to show that he's just as worthy for things as any other monster? It feels as if only Miss Human seems to understand that he is not a cheerful ignoramus, considering she never seems to hold back much information regarding her dreams even when he is around. Had it been Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, and his brother giving important information, they'd likely soften the content if he was present. 

Miss Human had done that before, but after careful consideration and critical thinking, it appears as if it was done out of fear of angering Sans, rather than keeping Papyrus "innocence" intact.

_We will find you soon, Miss Human,_  Papyrus thinks to himself as he straightens up and regards Druella with a serious spark in his eyes. Druella blinks, and although usually non-emotive, her eyebrows rise at Papyrus sudden change in demeanor. Now it's as if he is looming over her, using his height to call attention to himself.

"Although I do not like that and believe myself well suited to handle any serious topic... You are probably correct in your assumption. My comrades, save for Miss Human, tend to liken me to a _child_ in these kinds of situations. In fact, I am still _astounded_ by the fact Sans even had me to go on this search for Miss Human as well. Since monster-kind have reached the surface, this treatment from Undyne, Sans, and some of the other monsters has only gotten worse.," Papyrus admits, settling his gaze on Druella despite the urge he feels to look away.

Cynthia audibly whines from beside Druella's feet, but a quick pet by her owner settles her down immediately.

Papyrus watches as Druella absorbs this information and turns to looks towards the border between Waterfall and Hotland, right before facing Papyrus again and nodding to him in understanding.

"I guess we should look for our own answers to this mess without relying on those two then, shouldn't we?" Druella replies in question, staring up at Papyrus with no real emotion across her features as she waits for his next move.

Papyrus leans back from her a bit, shocked by the words that come from her mouth.

He hadn't even thought of it that way before... Why _is_ he standing there waiting for them to tell him about the situation? That's preposterous! He is no lazybones by a long shot, however, Druella's words ring true in a sense. He needs to take action himself if his friends are going to try to baby him!

He ought to show them why he can handle things like this just as much as _they_ can- even with that famous blinding grin of his to light the way.

His personality has _**nothing**_ to do with his _**ability.**_

Papyrus' expression shifts across a spectrum, starting from being shocked, to thoughtful, before passing understanding and finally settling on excitement.

For his future _Bestie,_ he's not going to sink back down to taking this embarrassing childish treatment from them.

"Indeed, Pink Human, you propose an _excellent_ point! ONWARDS!" Papyrus announces, the volume of his voice as strong as it had been back when he still lived underground, undiluted by the fears of the other monsters trying to protect him from humans on the surface that bark more than they bite.

Walking past Druella to lead the way, Druella allows a smile to break through her mask for a moment, before she remembers something and lets her face fall back to it's usual flat expression.

Her fingers make their way to the chain around her neck, pulling it up from under her shirt to reveal a small tin box that slides open to her touch. She sticks a finger in the box to stroke a soft, incredibly thin fabric within it's mint-box sized shape before closing it once more and dropping it to let it hang back down under her shirt.

She's still here looking for that important person.

If she's lucky... That person might just be _you._

* * *

Sans sighs in relief as he holds you against him in relief, pondering what must have scared you enough to hug him (of all people) like this. He takes the moment to peer around for any signs of danger before stiffening up when he suddenly feels the telltale movement of your hands slowly crawling up his rib cage through his jacket.

Rather than jump away, Sans becomes frozen like a statue- unsure of how to proceed next when your fingers trail up to the back of his neck, tracing the sensitive bone with a careful brush of your fingers. Sans reflexively shivers, only then realizing this is probably not the right time to be doing... Um, whatever it is you're doing.

"Hey, uh... You okay, Miss Human?" Sans inquires with a slight tone of playful unease as he reaches back to gently remove your hand from his neck, spine arched slightly as he tries to pull away from your touch. "You're sort of acting a bit weir-"

You snatch your hand from his and in the blink of an eye that Sans just so happens to miss since he's looking at your relaxed expression of ease, something whips hard against his uppermost left cheekbone and you seem to literally disappear out of existence. Caught off guard, Sans staggers backwards and slaps a skeletal hand against his cheek.

_What the-?!_  Sans thinks, dumbfounded as a sense of foreboding makes itself known when he spots movement at the corners of his eye sockets.

Sans immediately dodges a few more dark whipping forms that seemingly sprout out of nowhere, eye sockets wide and eye lights tiny pin pricks as he looks around for the source of the attack and where you've suddenly disappeared to. All Sans can think is _"Where is the attack coming from?"_ and _"Is (Name) okay?"_

Pulling his hand from his face to examine the damage, Sans is immediately struck with an awful pang of fear at the bright red substance staining the metacarpals of his hand. It practically glows in contrast with the monochromatic tone of his body and the area around him, jumping out like a bad reminder from the recesses of his mind.

It's while he forces himself to snap out of his petrified state that he looks up and spots you standing exactly where he left you. You still look as relaxed as you did when he first found you, save for a few strangely _black_ drops of sweat coating your forehead, but...

Around the middle section of your legs where your knees bend, your calves seem to have melded together into a dark black tar of slime, going down into a series of twitching and wriggling thorned tentacles that resemble thick vines. As you stand there, you cock your head innocently towards the side thoughtfully as you stare at Sans and lift one of your arms from beside you. As you do, you reveal that the end of it morphed into a long curling vine in the place where your hand was, one that unfurls from a tight coil to reveal a small red drop of redness that has smeared at the tip from attacking Sans. You don't break eye contact as you bring the tip of the vine up to your lips and lick it from the end, much to Sans' abject horror.

Sans is all kinds of confused at this point, and stands there with his red stained hand as he tries to make sense of the situation.

You've got these tar like vines sprouting from both your legs and from one hand. It's obviously magic- but he already speculated that there was a possibility of you likely having access to magic already. Whatever kind of magic that may be, Sans isn't sure, but this might just be it. However, what he _does_ know, is that you still don't like him yet. Despite that, Sans is positive that he's done nothing to warrant any kind of attempted assault like this, considering your prickly yet pacifistic nature.

So... There are two things he can deduce from this information.

First theory, you've found access to your magic and it's got to do with this kind of liquid slime, but you've become overwhelmed by the power of your magic enough that it's controlling you more than you're controlling it.

Or his second theory...

_**That's not you.** _

Sans narrows his eye lights on your figure in search for any sign of clues proving his second theory right before he attempts any retaliation of any kind. If the first theory is true, he will likely need to pull his punches. If the second theory proves itself, the impostor is in for one _hell_ of a bad time for trying to get comfy with him like that.

Much to the short skeleton's confusion, his query is disturbed in only the most irritating fashion as he studies you to find any irregularities that may stand out.

Your entire body, following the careful lick of red that had seeped from Sans' cheekbone, literally collapses and melts into a puddle of black tar much to San's shock. In minutes, however, it starts to grow back upwards into a wide figure- one with startling familiarity, considering he sees this figure nearly every morning that he wakes up and visits the washroom for a shower.

_Himself._

The other Sans, decked in the same monochromatic shades of gray scale value, grins back a lazy and nonchalant smirk of amusement at Sans' own gawking features, right before shoving their own hands in the pockets of the fake version of his favorite blue jacket.

At first, Sans is so startled that he immediately shifts his body and focuses his magic to blast the figure away, who stands there grinning at him without much action at the moment, much to Sans' uneasiness.

Before Sans can call out a gasterblaster from the void, a reminder of your serene and calm expression moments before makes itself known in his mind. Sans quickly exchanges the output of his attack into a bone move, causing blunt rather than sharp bones to shoot up from the ground at the copycat. 

Only making Sans' nonexistent brain hurt even more, the copycat gracefully jumps out of the way from the upward flying bones that threaten to damage them- something Sans is _definitely_ sure he does not posses the skill to do himself, but is quite certain _you_ have she skill to do.

Again, what if this _is_ your magic? And you've got the ability to change your appearance based on this magic type? Just because you've transformed into him doesn't mean you're not _you._ If Sans just starts blasting away at this copycat all willy-nilly and finds out at the end that it's you he's attacked...?

Chills run across Sans' body. He can't bring himself to fight this copycat without feeling like he'll accidentally _kill you._

_Shit, what am I supposed to do? It had me close earlier, why didn't it kill me_ then _? Why did it only cut open my..._

The copycat lifts a hand and snaps their skeletal fingers, much to Sans' own confusion.

When bones suddenly protrude violently from the ground up towards the real Sans, with deadly sharp bones in contrast to Sans' blunt bones from before, Sans jumps out of the way and narrowly avoids being turned into a pincushion. He exhales sharply and does not stop there, teleporting away towards the exit of MTT Resort and in the direction of the CORE as bones fly in his direction. Rather than hit Sans himself, the bones hit the no longer functioning sliding doors instead, lodging themselves within the door and startling Sans enough to teleport even further into the CORE.

As soon as he appears in one of the many crossroads of the CORE, this one being a room where four corridors lead back to his spot in the middle of the room. Finding himself to be alone, after a good minute or two of waiting, Sans sinks down to the floor of the CORE and leans back on his hands with his legs extended out.

"Fuck..." Sans groans in relief at the wonderful moment of peace, enough for him take a well needed breather and piece together what he can based on that encounter in MTT Resort.

If that is _you_ that just attacked him, then you're likely beyond reasoning with verbally. Sans might have to fight a little if he wants to break through whatever has caused you to go berserk. 

Although he's brainstorming right now, none of what he's witnessed so far has answered one of his biggest questions. You've either gone berserk or that isn't you. If that's not you, Sans still needs to keep looking. On the other hand, you're still beyond a doubt, according to Undyne's and Papyrus' _soul force_  senses definitely still down here in Mt. Ebott's underground

Which begs the question: _What are you **doing** down here?_

Sans leans back a little more, until he is looking at the ceiling, making his hands slide back a little further as he sighs and arches his back. His every bone is begging for a nap. Pleading for Sans to pull his hood up and curl on the floor for a few seconds of shut eye.

...Or maybe minutes...

...

...Hours...

As Sans eyelids grow heavy and threaten to close over his sockets due to thinking about how _nice_ a nap would be, his palm slides over something that sinks into the ground like a button, making Sans turn to look back with sleepy curiosity.

_What was-?_

* * *

 

"Whoa..." You say as you reach the last step down to a large lit up room, the size of a large studio with around eight large dirty machines and hundreds of abandoned pages covered in dust. As if realizing there's someone in there for the first time in god-knows-how-long, the small crystalline lights around the desks of the small lab space light up to illuminate more of the papers.

The hum, you notice as soon as your foot meets the ground and you leave the little stairway, suddenly falls silent much to your internal horror, making it impossible to tell what it is in the room that you're supposed to be hunting down.

"N-no!" You groan in aggravation, much to Flowey's confusion as he leans around your head to look at you and the room. To answer his expression of curiosity, you reply, "It's gone! The humming just freaking stopped!"

Flowey makes a face at the news, giving the room another once-over of disdain. 

"Well, there's a lot of dust and age down here, so let's hurry and look around for whatever it is. Let's look at the machines first- if you said it was a hum, it's likely it might be a malfunctioning machine making a sound at such a high or low hertz that only _you_ were able to hear it," Flowey reasons, something you once considered earlier after learning that Flowey could not hear it. 

Taking Flowey's words as a good suggestion, you shake off your annoyance at the hum to focus on the matter at hand, marching towards the closest machine from you as Flowey easily untangles from your hair to take a look at three large machines lined up along the back of the lab. Whether or not the flower even knows how to work machines, you leave them to it and get started on opening up the machine in front of you to see if it's powered off and properly out of commission.

Twenty minutes later and you two come up empty handed.

"Okay, so it's not one of the big machines here... Let's try looking around for something smaller then. I doubt anything can be living down here, so it's got to be an object of the sorts..." you suggest this time, walking over to one of several counter tops in the lab to begin rustling through many pages.

"Right... What even _is_ this place? Who's lab does it belong to...?" Flowey asks as he jumps on a desk with his vines and start pushing random papers to the ground to get to the strange trinkets in shelves and drawers behind. It's while he does this that he trails off as he finds something and pulls it out from a spare drawer, brushing one of his small leaves over the cover and then looking towards you with wide eyes. "Well. I think I know who's lab this is now."

You don't even have to ask for the book, because Flowey holds it out to you before you can say a word. Taking the thick leather bound book in your hands, your own eyes immediately widen when you read the embossed name across the front of the book revealing it's owner.

_Gaster._

"This is actually  _Gaster's_ lab then..." You observe out loud, before something suddenly comes to mind while you stare at the book cover. You'd been so busy thinking about _why_ Gaster contacted you and _what_ they were contacting you for, but never truly stopped to think about _who_ Gaster was. At least now you have a gist of their identity...

The fact that they have a lab underneath the mountain- underneath the _CORE_ \- tells you that Gaster is likely a monster... Unless they're something like Flowey?

"How come you don't classify as a monster?" you blurt out to your golden companion as he shuffles through papers and examines as many strange objects he can get his vines on, watching him jump at your query and turn to face you. He looks almost offended by your inquiry, and that's enough for you to quickly reword your question, a chastised expression of shame etched on your face. "Sorry, I didn't mean... Um, what I mean to ask by that is whether there are more creatures that don't identify as monsters. Gaster likely lived in the underground, so... They're likely a _monster,_ right?"

Flowey's expression relaxes as you elaborate, before shaking his head at your question.

"I'm the only one down here who is not a monster. There are no others like me, and I know this for certain. I'd explain to you how I know this for sure, but... I don't want to," Flowey simply puts it. No lollygagging, no cruel snap, no joke.

Sounds like a topic you shouldn't touch- at least a this point in time.

You nod to Flowey and turn back to look at the journal, right before reaching back and tucking it in the waistband of your pants, to start shuffling through items with Flowey quietly. Once again, you begin to lose yourself in your thoughts while you dig through things. Hopefully Gaster doesn't mind that the two of you are going through all their things like this...

_Time is of the essence,_ you remind yourself.

You open a cabinet over the desk and flinch back as a blast of dust hits you face first, making you jump back with a noise of disdain as you grab a few papers and wave it out of your face. This must be a hilarious scene, because Flowey immediately bursts into an uncontrollable laughter as a result, making you glare over at him while coughing into your arm to get rid of the aged dirt that has made its way into your airways.

_Gross,_ you think, before waving off the Flower's amusement to continue looking into the deathtrap of a cabinet. Pulling out spare papers and letting them drop to the desk creates more clouds of old dust, but without your tank top and only your sports bra for coverage, you can't pull it up without revealing bits of you that you'd rather keep private. In the end, you just use your arm as you move things around.

...?

You feel something near the back of the cabinet and get on your tip toes to try and grab it, but unfortunately for you, your stature is apparently too short for you to reach it- at least not without getting on the desk and-

The familiar quivering and the sound of something sliding open from above makes you jump and turn just in time to see a figure hit the stairs with a loud grunt of pain, right before gravity gains victory over them and sends their body tumbling down the stairs to the machine you were previously tinkering with. They slam headfirst into it hard enough that even _you_ cringe with pity from the volume of the bang.

...That is, until you see the shorts they're wearing and the fuzzy slippers that tumble down the stairs after them, one hitting them in the face as they shift to sit up, causing their hoodie to pop back and reveal a portion of their surprised expression upon hitting their head.

Of course, you gawk before you register this is actually the _last_ person you really want to see at this point, watching as they wobble in an attempt to stand- only to tumble back to the ground and rub the side of their head with a groan of pain.

You feel an immediate rewarding sort of feeling watching the mighty Sans writhing on the floor like this, but after a moment of basking in the good feeling, your remember he just hit his skull particularly hard against a metallic object and resign yourself to at _least_ check to see that he'll live.

While Sans continues to grovel and hold his head, you take a step towards him and feel vines squirm under your hair and around your head, making you look up as your hair is quickly rebound with Flowey's vines in a bun once more, the flower settling in a headband-like position so he hangs over your left ear comfortably enough that he'll be able to whisper in your ear.

_"Don't let smiley trashbag know I'm here! He doesn't know who I am but... I'll explain later. It's best that no one knows I'm here other than you. It will only open a can of worms I'm not ready to deal with yet!"_ Flowey whispers by your ear quickly, making you consider their words before nodding and walking the rest of the way towards Sans, who stares at the ceiling quietly with his hands over his skull and a glare of irritation trained ahead.

"Sans?" You speak up, leaning over his fallen form so that you appear in his line of sight, clad in your sports bra and Flowey-brand hairband.

Almost immediately, Sans removes his hands and stares up at you with wide eye sockets that trail, much to your irritation, up and down from your face to your bare torso and back with little shame. At first, you think he's blatantly checking you out (didn't he say before that he doesn't find meaty humans attractive?), but then he jumps to his feet and stretches the space between the two of you, left eye light flaring up while his right dissipates into the inky depths of his eye socket.

You stiffen up, recognizing the threat and narrowing your eyes despite the anxious expression on the pitiful skeleton's face.

"Prove to me you're really (Name), because someone else looking like her just tried to rip me apart a few minutes ago," Sans quickly states, rib cage rising up and down quickly as he stares you down defensively with his hands up ready to fight.

Regardless of his explanation, which you _guess_ you can excuse considering that he apparently saw another person with your face (what does that even mean...?), you keep the glare to your face and don't hesitate to reply.

"You're a vile, disgusting creature and I still hate your guts."

Silence fills the room.

...

"...oh," Sans replies with a rather despondent tone, eye lights reverting to their regular tones and sizes as he seems to visibly deflate at your news. "Well, that's _you_ alright..."

You tap your foot expectantly, peering at his strange expression and words with a critical eye as you cross your arms. "How'd you get here?"

Sans raises a brow bone of confusion and reaches back up to rub his skull, pulling his hoodie off of his face entirely. "I sat on the floor and accidentally pressed something...?" He answers in confusion, only to be dismissed when you spot a small line of red across his left cheekbone upon his removal of his hoodie.

"You're _hurt,"_ you blurt out, walking the rest of the way over to him and taking his chin in one hand before running your other thumb over the small slit that seems to seep small globules of red liquid. "Is that blood? How are you bleeding if you're a monster?"

Sans does not answer, standing there completely silent and staring at you with wide sockets of surprise as you turn to look for a box of really,  _really_ old band-aids you spotted earlier around the counters. As soon as you find them and open them up, you release Sans' face to peel one little packet open and face the clearly nervous skeleton with a look of annoyance.

"I'm not going to _bite_ you, Sans. You look like you need to take a piss or something..." You grumble in an attempt to snap him out of whatever is making him look so anxious, sticking the band-aid over the small cut and taking a step back to look at your work once he's in better condition.

_"You're supposed to be looking for something, idiot. You can ask the trashbag your questions later once you've found what you're looking for!"_ Flowey whispers by your ear, petals curled inwards over most of his face to make him appear like a normal flower.

That reminder is enough for you to turn and scurry back to the desk you were once examining. You look up at the cabinet above and pull yourself up onto the desk's surface carefully, moving slowly when you hear it creak slightly in objection. 

Closer to the cabinet, you reach up and grab hold of what feels like a large vanity box, pulling it out of the cabinet carefully and leaning back to get off the desk.

Once you have the box in your hands, one elegantly designed box of silver with pearls decorating along the rim of the lid and cat feet shaped legs on the bottom, you reach for the front clasp... And boldly curse out loud when you realize you need a key to open it.

Where the hell are you going to find a key for this?! That's like looking for a needle in a... 

...Ugh. You didn't want to have to explain or ask Sans for help, but-

A skeletal hand reaches around you to the box with a key at hand, pushing it in the keyhole of the box and twisting to make the lid of the box jump as it clicks open. Surprised by the fact he could open it, you turn to look at Sans beside you, who appears just as surprised when he brings his key ring up to give the old looking silver key in the lineup a strange look.

"...That's the key to my old bedroom and workshop," Sans voices to answer your inquisitive look in regards to his surprise, before you turn to the box and pop it open to see what could be inside it.

...?

You cock your head slightly to the side as you catch a glimpse of what's inside the box, furrowing your brow in surprise.

There are five objects, all more or less very innocent in nature. The first two items are little glass orbs with maybe three or four teeth in each, one showing square teeth and the other showing long, unnatural teeth to your eyes. Beneath the orb with square teeth is a small star plushy with a cute face the size of maybe your hand, and beneath the orb with long teeth is an action figure slightly smaller than the star plushy, with a large sword and traditional white karate suit that bears a black belt.

"Oh my god," Sans speaks up in shock, picking up the orb with square teeth and the star plushy in disbelief. 

"What?" You ask curiously, intrigued by the expression of nostalgia on Sans' face as he shakes the glass orb carefully to look at the teeth. His eye lights jump to the plushy in his other hand, and he quickly turns upside down to reveal the tag with faded writing. There's still enough of it to tell what it says though, and as Sans moves so you can see it, you feel your jaw drop in understanding.

Sans _name_ is written on the tag.

"These are mine, but like... When I was still a _babybones,"_ Sans explains, looking a lot less frustrated and anxious now that he has these things to talk about. He puts back the two items and picks up the other orb and action figure in the box, chuckling a little at the small long teeth inside the glass object. "And these are _Papyrus'_ babybones teeth. Not much has changed in the action figure department though."

Even _you_ can't help but smile a little at the warmth in Sans' voice as he talks about his brother, prompting you to point to the last item in the box curiously. "Who's is that?"

Sans follows your index finger to the final glass orb in the box and puts down Papyrus things, reaching for the last orb to give it a discerning look. After turning the glass orbs in his hands a bit, he frowns and shrugs in response. "This one I'm not so sure... I've never seen anything like that before."

You hold out your hand to him, internally giving him a few brownie points when he sees what you mean by this gesture and places the orb in your waiting hand for you to look at.

The small glass orb, the size of maybe a golf ball, is in your hands no more than half a second before you hear the hum loud and clear- reverberating around you and in your ear.

Your eyes widen slightly as you register exactly where it's coming from, causing your eyes to narrow in surprise at the glass orb in your hand.

"This is it!" You blurt out, much to Sans' visible confusion, making Flowey shuffle by your ear since he's on the other side of your head where Sans can't see him.

_"Really? It is? That dinky thing?"_ Flowey whispers with an unimpressed tone. _"What's inside of it anyways? Tissue paper?"_

"This is the source of that humming I've been hearing everywhere!" You say, ignoring how Sans only appears to grow more confused by your words.

"'Humming'...? What do you mean by-?" Sans begins to ask, until the sound of a loud **Slam!** makes itself known in the midst of your mini-celebration, causing you and Sans' necks to whip back towards the top of the stairs behind you.

Just when you think everything is fine and it was just a false alarm, another slam echoes through the room, causing you to squeak and jump closer to Sans' side as you see something visibly squeeze through the sliding door leading down to this secret lab, consisting or a tar-like material you hoped you were _done_ seeing for the night.

The sound of something mechanical to the far right side of the room whirring to life makes you and Sans turn again with sharp gasps, before you see a large machine with a spinning interior that comes to a slow stop and pops open its thick metallic door as your eyes land on it.

**GET IN.**

**HOME.**

Gaster's familiar static in your head makes you grab Sans' hand and drag him over to the machine quickly, stuffing the glass orb in your bra and pushing the skeleton in first- much to his surprise.

"Hey, what are you-?!" Sans asks in confusion, until you jump in after him and slam the metal door shut behind yourself. There's about enough room for the two of you if you're both curled up there, but not enough room for personal space, so you're forced to sit on Sans' lap, much to your disdain, as you hear the machine power up and start to feel it spinning.

Sans, on the other hand, looks incredibly anxious by this position, and looks at everything around the interior of this machine except you.

_Home sounds like the best place. Home, and a nap sounds even better._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet dreams, I wanted to make this even longer, but my eyes have started to close as of writing the ending! So I'll move the rest to the next chappy. Hope you enjoyed this one! 
> 
> Chaos will ensue in the next installment, that's for sure~! :D
> 
> Side note: Although the Dadster is still in the hospital right now, he's doing a lot better now! He might be able to come home sometime in the next day or two, according to the doctor, so we'll see!! ^.^ Slowly and surely, he's regaining the ability to say words that were once hard for him to pronounce, I'm so happy<333
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)


	36. Pointing Your Finger Once More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans attempt to get away from the creature, and you get your hands on the item Gaster sent you to retrieve.
> 
> ...But at what cost?

Chapter 36: Pointing Your Finger Once More

 

You grip onto Sans' arms tighter as the machine starts to spin even faster and faster, to the point that it's suddenly spinning so fast that gravity shoves you and Sans back against the wall of the machine together. Your heart speeds up, rattling in your chest like a jackhammer.

_Did you just make another mistake trusting Gaster?_

Why did you just jump into the machine like that? You even pushed _Sans_ in, and Flowey is still attached to your hair...! You need to use your brain before you go following Gaster's commands like a sheep- _especially_ if the situation is dire! Is this what you call putting their safety first?!

Sans' arms, once resting awkwardly on either side of your waist and hips, slide off of you and hit the back wall with a loud clang, while yours press into your chest under the force of gravity and physics. Your head starts to ache as Flowey's vines tighten around your skull to keep from sliding off your head, causing a painful constriction as you sit there and struggle to endure the speed of the machine.

The machine is spinning so fast that your brain can hardly keep up with the movement, serving as a strained overload of sensory that makes you snap your eyes shut and curl up into yourself as you pray for it to be over soon.

You hardly feel like you're grounded anymore, but just when you think you can no longer take the stress of the spinning... It stops.

Not like it slows down to a stop or even _abruptly_ stops, but it stops like it was never spinning in the first place, causing a jarring sensation of warped reality as you sit there in Sans' lap and breathe in and out to calm your nerves. Considering the skeleton's lack of words from behind you, you reasonably assume that he too must be making an attempt to cope with the inexplicable jarring change.

Eventually, a couple of minutes pass, and Sans exhales heavily in relief, resting his phalanges on your hips again. This seems to snap you out of your daze, and you lift a leg to violently kick open the metal door of the machine. As soon as it swings open, Sans hands fly off of you as if terrified of this change in temper. With a way out from the small space with the skeleton, you scramble off of Sans' lap and exit like he's burned you. 

The fact that you slightly stumble when you land on your feet is your only proof that spinning actually happened and really _had_ screwed with your center of balance, making you step back to steady yourself on the side of the machine, which appears to be covered with a cloth that you have to duck under to see whether that _thing_ is still coming after you three and-

...?

This isn't the lab... What the heck is this place?

You force your body to recuperate and walk into the middle of the much smaller room you and Sans have happened upon, reaching up to brush your fingers along Flowey's petals to make sure he's still there. When the flower wriggles upon your feathery touch, you relax a bit more with reinforced comfort, the vines around your head easing in their headache inducing grip as if Flowey's been comforted himself.

At least you're not stuck alone with only Sans the Skele-fart...

Sans pushes under the cloth over the machine before looking around the room and blinking his eye sockets at the desk to the right. As soon as he sees the scattered blueprints on the desk, Sans narrows his eye lights in suspicious annoyance.

"Why am I not surprised anymore...?" He mutters to himself, prompting you to glance his way despite the weirdness back in the machine you really can't stop thinking about without a mental cringe. To your wrinkled expression of confusion, Sans answers, "This is my old workshop. We're in Snowdin."

You blink as you take in this information, until you notice that Sans' jacket has reverted back to it's regular blue color. Surprised by this, you look over towards the rest of the room, equally surprised when color jumps out at you- although it's shifting rapidly in that kaleidoscope sort of fashion like you'd seen in the timeless zone. What does that mean? Are you out of the timeless zone then? If so, why are the colors still reacting so strangely in that case?

"What time is it?" You ask, turning to look towards Sans again with a serious expression of urgency.

Obviously startled by your demanding tone, Sans raises a brow bone at your clear bossiness but pulls his phone out to check for you anyways. Funny, you half expected some backtalk following that snap... Guess he really _is_ trying to make up for his previous asstard-ness. "It's..."

** VVVWWWWAAAAHHHKK! **

You and Sans, caught off guard by the loud creaking of horribly bent metal, spin around to see the clothed machine behind you tremble and shake. Your eyes widen and you take a step back, cupping a hand by your ear when you feel Flowey's vines bristle in annoyance.

_"Now what...?!"_  The flower complains by your earlobe, vines twitching around your scalp as you step closer to Sans for security. As much as you don't like him for obvious reasons, you're pretty much _dead_ if you go "solo" right now. Especially since Flowey doesn't want to reveal himself- though you wouldn't doubt for a second that he'll jump in if the occasion really calls for-

Something snaps around your waist just as a dark tendril jabs towards both you and Sans from under the clothed machine, but just when you think it's Sans preparing to teleport and get you the hell out of there, your body elevates towards the ceiling. Apparently, Flowey has come to your rescue regardless of not wanting to show himself, but considering his location and lack of a reasonable sight line from his curled petals to cover his face, he pushes you upwards a little too high.

" _AUGH!"_  You object with irritation, grabbing at the back of your head to nurse your scalp as your expression contorts into a pained snarl.

_"Oh, shoot. Too high,"_ Flowey whispers sheepishly as you glare down at the vines securely wrapped around your waist. At least the demonic little flower means well... Which is surprising, considering how absolutely hostile and murderous he was when you first encountered him. This must be fate's way of getting back at you for celebrating Sans' cranial damage back in Gaster's lab...

"(N-Name)...?" Sans asks from where he's crouched on the ground, having jumped out of the way so that the two tendrils aimed at the both of you stuck into the wall to the furthest end of the workshop opposite of the machine. Glancing down at him, you can tell there are so many questions flitting around in his eye sockets at the sight of the vines holding you up, but you wave his expression of wonder off as Flowey brings you back down, vines moving to wrap in a spiral around your arms and legs once more as you're placed back on your feet. The moment you relocate to stand next to Sans, the cloth to the strange machine in the work shop is ripped apart and tossed out of the way, revealing...

**DON'T LOOK!**

Startled at Gaster's static in your head, you yelp and cover your eyes with your left hand. Before Sans can open his mouth to say something about your weird reaction in a situation such as this (like he appears to want to), you blindly swing your right arm at the assaultants' assumed direction with as much force as you can muster, wincing as you feel the impact of Flowey's dangerously thorned vine whip out in response against the face of the other creature. The slime being audibly flies back with an awful screech, hitting the metal machine with enough force that you hear an awful gushing sound of slime splashing around.

You don't like murder, but a plain ol' pummel into a pulp? That much you can stand by, at least in a situation as dire as this. There's no way you can get out of this mess without some kind of a scuffle, that's for damn certain.

...Wait. Sans can teleport you guys out of here, can't he? Why hasn't he done this already?! What's this idiot waiting for?!

"Come on! Get us out of here, Sans!" You complain desperately, reaching out to grab Sans' arms in the darkness of your closed eyes and tug him closer to you so that he's forced to wrap his arms around you. He jumps when you grab him and yank him to you, but doesn't immediately wrap his arms around you. What's wrong with him?! Both of you are going to be torn to shreds if he doesn't use his dumb magic!

"Wait, I can't, I-  _Gah,_ to hell with it!" Sans growls, clearly at his nerves end as he tightens his hold and the world momentarily disappears into a weightless feeling.

Your head is resting over his shoulder as you cling tightly to him, making sure that you don't lose your grip for a second. You don't want to find out what would happen if you accidently let go while he was teleporting.

Before you can begin to study this strange feeling of weightlessness in depth, gravity takes hold of you and Sans, bringing the pair of you back to your feet with a familiar rustling of grass and plant life. In the background, you can hear a rush of water emitting from all around you, giving you the answer to your current location before you even open your eyes again.

As you've already guessed from the sound of water, you open your eyes to find that you're back at Waterfall- but this time it's in _full_ color, painting your vision with shadows and glowing cyan shades of light. A beautiful sight for what you've gone through in the past few nonexistent hours.

A sigh of relief escapes you, but just when you think you're a reasonable distance out of the woods, Sans weight seems to grow heavier against you. At first you think it's just him relaxing after such a stressful moment in his old workshop... But as he gets heavier against you, you realize that this is _not_ the case.

_Oh no._

"Sans? _Sans!"_ You shout with a bewildered expression of horror when his entire weight starts to drags lower and lower, pulling you down until you're seated on the ground with Sans shoulders and head pressed in your arms. Oh shit, what happened? Has he seriously just passed out on you?!

You lean to his other side to get a good look at his face, and to your surprise, his eye sockets are slightly open. His eye lights flick over to your alarmed gaze almost listlessly, but he says nothing in response to ease your worries. He's in bad condition, but you don't know why _._  Was it the spinning in that machine that caused this? Is he really that tired? Or did he get hit by that _thing_ while you weren't looking? You may not like him, but even _you_ know what you're going to have to do at this point.

Grumbling incoherent insults at the incapacitated, barely conscious skeleton, you make an effort to lift Sans up, surprised at how heavy he is despite being only a skeleton. You strain to pull his arm around your shoulders and stand, legs trembling slightly from the added weight as you prepare to get moving. Flowey's vines have wrapped around the lengths of you arms and legs to reinforce your human strength with his own, but even _that_ isn't enough help to ease most of Sans' weight in your efforts to move on.

It's while you start walking that you realize you don't have a clear direction in which to walk towards that will lead you out of Mt. Ebott, causing you to stop once more.

You bite your lip as you look around, until your eyes settle on some planks you can walk across. For now, getting further away from the slimy creature that's after you seems like your only option, and despite his dazed state, Sans still makes an effort to move his legs when you begin to drag him onward. Honestly, however, you don't even know which direction Snowdin is. You can only hope you're walking away from that place as you drag Sans along with much effort, panting as you pass the first planked walk way and continue on gravel and strange moss of a navy blue tone. There are echo flowers which ever way you turn, and you do well to avoid getting to close to them since they creep you out.

What a night you're having.

_...I shouldn't have come down here_ , you think to yourself. _Listening to Gaster and following those lights was a huge mistake._

You gasp suddenly, nearly tripping over a sturdy bundle of mushrooms and yelping when they light up to the contact of your foot. Upon realizing that you've gotten scared over some freaky glowing bundle of fungi with little importance, you growl and pull your leg back, swinging it hard against the mushrooms with a force that sends small pieces of the caps flying everywhere. Seeing that your kick of frustration has done little to the fungus, you pull your leg back at them and kick again, letting Sans completely slide down to the ground as you go to town on the stupid mushrooms in your path.

_"Stupid, STUPID,_ **STUPID!"** You bark as you kick at the mushrooms, watching as they glow and dim to every kick you make until they're only battered stumps with no capacity to light up. Still, you keep kicking, panting as your efforts begin to take effect in the form of fatigue.

By the time you stop and plop down on your ass beside Sans, you realize you're shaking and completely out of breath, tears threatening to form at the corners of your eyes. Your heart is pumping overtime from your temper tantrum, but rather than continue to huff and puff, you pull your legs against your chest and rest your forehead against your knees. Exhaustion and stress creep over you as you let your eyes drift shut, allowing the gravity of the events to finally catch up and hit you with little mercy.

There are two people that are dead. Halley, a family friend, and the inebriated driver that was more or less the cause of Halley's death. You've been following Gaster's orders like a sheep without batting an eye despite that you can name hundreds of reasons why _not_ to listen to him. You're stuck in the underground alone with Sans, and you don't even know if there's anyone else down here since you were sort of ignoring him, save for his reminiscing about the orbs in Gaster's lab. Something of unknown origin is around here trying to kill you, Sans, and Flowey. And finally, you're _stuck_ down here since Sans is incapacitated, with no way out other than to hide and pray the creature doesn't find you.

...Although you wouldn't say it to Flowey's face, you don't know whether he will snap at any moment and change his mind about killing you. He's unstable, that much you're already aware of. How stupid of you to invite him into your own  _home._

_"Stupid..."_ You murmur to yourself once again, knotting your fingers in your hair and a part of Flowey's vines. As you do this, you feel a wriggling of Flowey in response and loosen your grip, taking a deep breath to calm yourself down. Somehow, this seems to ease your worries, though you're not sure how. Is this his way of saying he's here for you? Can you trust  _him?_ What if he's just like Gaster?

 

A bit of shuffling to your right makes you turn your head to see Sans staring up at you with half lidded eye sockets, causing your gaze to suddenly harden a the sight of the skeleton's questioning gaze within his eye sockets.

Something seems to snap in place within your mind, making you lift your head to stare back at him. You shouldn't be worried about  _Flowey..._ He's not a  _monster._ He could have instantly killed you when the two of you met... So why didn't he? Does that mean he was just bluffing as a means to simply scare you? It could be... But you know when things had suddenly started to turn to shit in your life? It was before Flowey even showed up! In fact...

_Funny how everything suddenly went to shit the moment you met Papyrus, huh?_

You give Sans a sharp glare, the shadows around you only serving to your advantage as you back straightens up. 

_Funnier that Gaster's lab seems to have things belonging to Sans and Papyrus, huh?_

You turn and roll onto your feet, straightening up to loom over the collapsed skeleton. If he was a little more conscious, you're sure he'd likely look a little more intimidated than he does right now with that stupid sleepy expression on his face.

_Why would Gaster's machine lead to Sans' old workshop? That's something you should be questioning, shouldn't you?_

"This is... _Your fault...!"_  You suddenly hear yourself say, noting the way Sans' eye lights shift within his sockets as he hears you say this, dragging down to your tightly clenched fists at your sides. He can't say anything. He can't _do_ anything, other than return his gaze back up to your face.

...All he can do, is listen.

So you take advantage of this.

"My life was completely _fine_ before your _stupid_  brother showed up at school and asked me to help work on his... Ugh, his ' _inside voice'_! Who takes a statement like _that_ as bloody literal anyways?!" You bark down at the source of all your problem, despite the guilt that pools in your stomach as you talk about Papyrus in such a way.

Your temper is flaring up again, but you can't stop now. You have things to say, and you're going only going to say them _once._ Best to say it while he's still conscious enough to hear you verbally rip _him_ to shreds. You're _done_ being meek about this and having your voice drowned out by everyone, you should have _never_ let monsters into your life! Look at what they've brought with them! And now it's going to _ruin_ you!

_That's not true, you don't know whether there are connections between monsters and this mess with Gaster,_ your sensible side tries to say.

You ignore it.

Why else were Sans' and Papyrus' things found in Gaster's lab? Fuck, all three even know that same "super stupid" sign language!

"My freaky dreams started at the hospital, which just so happens to be the same time I was stuck being pestered and coddled by Undyne and Alphys! The only reason I was in there in the _first place_ was because you and your brother were hogging _my_ best friend! I could hardly try to patch things up with her because she was avoiding me to hang out with _you!_ I don't _want_ any other best friend, and I certainly don't want it to be with a filthy **_monster!_** **"** You say that final word as if it's the most disgusting thing on the planet, taking a step back from Sans despite his listless gaze not wavering from you a single bit. You can only guess what he's thinking down there. Maybe he's disgusted with _you._  Maybe he's going to revert back to harassing you like he originally did once he's back on his feet.

You hate that you care about what he could be thinking about you, but force yourself to zero in on your anger instead. You just want to go home and curl up under your bed, like you used to do as a kid when Libby's parents would get mad at you.

"If it wasn't for your dumb friends trying to integrate me into their group, maybe none of this wouldn't have happened! There are two _dead_ people I've seen tonight, how is _that_ going to look when I get back and people start asking questions?!"

Somewhere, in the pit of your stomach, you know that blaming monsters like this is wrong. Alphys' and Undyne's faces flash in the back of your mind as you curse monster-kind, but rather than feel empowered by finally letting your anger out, you only feel your stomach sink. You ignore the horrible sensation of discomfort and shame to continue your ranting.

This doesn't feel the same as before. You feel like you're going to be sick.

"...I'm going home. This isn't my problem," you say more to yourself than Sans before reaching into your bra and tossing the source of the humming, the glass orb you got from Gaster's Lab, by Sans. His eye lights drag over to it slowly, but then return back up to you. His eye light's dim and flicker slightly, but you pay no mind to whatever that could mean and pull Gaster's journal from your waistband. You toss that down by the fallen skeleton as well, feeling your nerves and muscles wind up in objection to even your physical actions.

Part of you wants to keep that small glass orb for safety, considering everything you had to endure to secure it in the first place. The other part of you, the selfish part, reasons that keeping it will only invite Gaster to continue bothering you about it some more. You don't even know _why_ you need to protect it.

But now it's no longer your problem.

"I don't need these. I don't need monsters in my life. I don't need anymore problems," you repeat, taking another step back. You're not sure who you're saying this to anymore... Sans? Or your conscious? 

_Am I really going to leave him here?_  You ask yourself when Sans' eye lights flicker up at you again. 

...

Sans came down here to find you, didn't he? He's here because he cared about your well being... Right? ...Or what if he's down here because he cares about how _Papyrus_ would feel if you were out of the picture? What if he doesn't care about _you_ at all? After all, he did treat you badly when you first met him. Why would you assume otherwise anyways?

They're all fake. _All of them are liars_ , _just like Gaster._

Your stomach churns with discomfort. None of what you are doing feels right at all. You believe what you first stated, about how your life was fine before Papyrus showed up, but the more your speak, the more your rant spins out of control. At this point, you're grabbing at whatever you can to separate yourself from the monsters. You're saying _anything_  to place the blame on them, rather than yourself. Anything to escape how _awful_ you feel right now.

In reality though, _you_ didn't try hard enough to get along with Libby. _You_  allowed Undyne and Alphys to drag you into their lives. _You_  agreed to go on a date with Papyrus. _You_ listened to Gaster's orders.

It isn't really _their_ fault that you were dragged into the lives of monsters...

It's yours.

And now you're just using them as a scapegoat, exactly like any other racist does in the daily news whenever something involving monsters shows up.

_Shut up,_  you think, hopelessly confused. It doesn't matter if this is wrong- you just don't want to deal with this anymore.

Your hand drifts to your leg when your muscles twitch at the painful memory from earlier, the horrible sensation your leg snagging and nearly popping off from the force of your falling momentum and your weight.

You want to go home. You want everything to go back to how it was _before_ you met monsters.

_Do you really?_  You ask yourself, thinking back to the past few days.

You were smiling more, even when you didn't want to and were entirely against monsters. You were invested in hearing the stories about the Underground from Undyne while still at the hospital, even if you pretended you weren't listening. You had fun showing up Undyne with your flexibility. You found it hilarious when you set Frisk and Papyrus to take Sans down for your hand in "dateage". Heavens knows you were _elated_ dancing with Papyrus following your failed date. It's the most you've ever experienced within a week, and the most active you've been outside of school activities.

You're going to be sick.

You don't _hate_ them... You just hate everything they've brought _with_ them.

...

Rather than take another step back, you walk back over to Sans and sigh, crouching down and putting your hands on either side of his face so that he can't look away from you. Your thumb gently brushes the band-aid you'd applied to his cheekbone, causing an almost indiscernible hue of blue to dust over Sans' cheeks. He almost matches the scenery of Waterfall now, but from the way he looks up at you... You're half pressed to think that he doesn't even realize what you're saying to him at this point.

"...Goodbye, Sans," you finish anyways, your mind entirely made up as you watch his eye lights finally dim completely. His eyelids close over his sockets and you release his face, setting his head down against the ground gently.

You're going to leave him there.

_What if that creature gets here and finishes him off though? He's in plain sight laying there._

_..._

Feeling even sicker than ever, feeling like the _scum_ of the Earth, you turn around and walk away. Your footsteps are nearly silent as you walk, and despite your decision, you can't help but continually glance back at Sans' fallen form the further you get from him.

_I can still turn around. I can drag him somewhere safer, rather than leave him out in the open._

You force your gaze ahead and break into a run before you can change your mind.

_I guess you were right after all, Sans. Humans really_ are _horrible,_  you think, only slowing when you reach a room with dimming mushroom bundles. You walk over to a slowly dimming mushroom bundle and kick it a little too hard, making the path ahead brighten up. Breathing heavily from running, you convince yourself to proceed forward, no longer risking any glances back at where you've left Sans. Not like you'd see him anymore due to the distance, but...

You feel Flowey shift around your head until he's leaning out so you can see his face, a stunned look of discomfort etched across his features. You almost forgot he was here... Listening to your bigotry loud and clear.

_Shit..._ You think shamefully, watching the golden flower awkwardly shift his eyes to the sides. He seems to be considering his next statement carefully.

"Uh, do you maybe... Want me to go too then?" He asks hesitantly, like the wrong words will make you snap again.

He sounds strangely despondent, despite his sass and backtalk from way earlier. Although he seemed totally against the idea when you first proposed taking him above ground to live with you, even going as far as to threaten you not to, now it looks as if he'd _actually_ been looking forward to joining you up on the surface. His petals tilt downwards as he faces you, obviously waiting for your rejection of him after that whole anti-monster spiel.

...

"You... Said you're not a monster, right?" You inquire, looking away from the flower and towards the path ahead as you walk. Flowey seems surprised by your query, but nods slowly in confirmation nonetheless. You nod as well in agreement, kicking the next bundle of stupid mushrooms in dissipating anger. If there's anyone you're really furious with though, it's yourself.

_I'm the disgusting, vile creature. I'm selfish, caring only about myself..._

_...But I'm also not a hero, am I?_

"Then there's no problem, is there, Flowey?" You reply with a hollow tone of resignation, watching as Flowey stares back at you for a moment. Once he's done studying your face, he rests his stem over your shoulder quietly with a thoughtful expression on his face.

The only thing running through your mind is one simple accusation towards yourself.

_You left him there. You left him there. **You left him there.**_

**(NAME).**

You stop and close your eyes, willing the static to silence itself as you press your palms against your ears. Whatever they want you to do now, you don't want to hear it and you will _not_ do it. No matter whatever it happens to-

**I AM SORRY.**

Your eyes snap open at the way the static seems to dip to a low range of white noise, making you remove your hands from your ears in surprise. Flowey looks interested by your expression, but you're far too focused on the voice to relay the information back to Flowey at the moment.

**DID NOT MEAN FOR IT.**

**NO ONE ELSE.**

**SO SO SORRY.**

**NO ONE ELSE HEARS.**

**DID NOT MEAN TO HURT**.

**DO NOT WANT TO HURT.**

**VALUE IMPORTANT PERSON.**

**I AM SORRY.**

The static comes in a flurry that you almost don't catch everything. Your expression falls as you hear the desperation in the wordless voice, even though some of their static is lost in translation. What you didn't catch isn't the important part though. Your brain focuses on the main message Gaster is sending you, and you can feel your soul throb in understanding when you feel something around you... Fade away.

_They're sorry for putting you through this. They're letting you **go**._

Your selfish side wants to scream. Sorry doesn't really cut it for every thing you been through... But if you really _are_ the only person that can hear them, then what else were they supposed to do? It honestly feels as if they are devastated by your state, and half of you can't help but feel grateful that they are at least empathizing with you over it.

...Now what should you do?

...

You turn around and run again. Your mind is not changed in the slightest, but you won't sink down to _such_  a low of a level that you'd leave Sans out in the open on a platter, speeding through the glowing mushrooms and kicking them to light your way as you scurry back to where you've left Sans.

_Why was I considering such a terrible thing in the first place?_ You think shamefully as you reach the room you've left Sans in, spotting him across the winding path around the large aquatic body of water. Racing back to his fallen body, you recollect the fallen items quickly and then hook Sans' arm over your shoulder. As you stand, your eyes widen at how light he suddenly feels- until you notice vines wrapping quickly around his upper torso and move your gaze to where Flowey is resting his stem on your shoulder and looking in all directions except your face. They almost look embarrassed for helping you out like this.

"You can thank me later for helping you with smiley trashbag," Flowey sasses, making you crack a bit of a smile despite your horrible breakdown. Before you can decide what to do, Flowey's vines lift you up off your feet as well, your long hair dropping down your back as they loosen their vines from your makeshift bun. Next thing you know, you're being carried back a few rooms- until you reach a small waterfall with a body of water covered in small glowing lily pads of a navy blue color. Flowey moves towards the waterfall and ducks under the falls, leading you and Sans into a small room. He places Sans' at the far end in a half sitting and half laying position before nodding at you to toss the orb and journal in.

You toss the journal in first, but hesitate when it comes to the small glass orb. Turning the little object in your hand and examining the thin crumpled fabric within, you frown and consider the effort made to get it. You have another chance at taking it with you after this mess. Will you do it? It could prove to be trouble in the long run...

...

"I think I'll keep this one... I went through too much to get my hands on it. It's what I was here for anyways," you relent in the end, tucking it back in your sports bra and nodding to Flowey to pull you back out, leaving Sans safely concealed behind the rushing cyan waters. 

"This is as secure of a hiding spot as you can get, don't sweat it," Flowey responds to your expression of concern as he drags you back to the area you originally left Sans at, vines swinging you ahead much to your relief. You'd been carrying him the entire way before, so maybe this is his repayment now that Sans is no longer around.

...Sans may be safer than he was when you let him drop to the floor in the middle of Waterfall, but you don't feel any less guilty. Thankfully, Flowey really is _not_  a monster. If he was, you're sure he would be trying to convince you that leaving Sans there is a horrible thing to do. 

You wonder why he's not questioning your decisions at all though, and look up at him from where his stem rests over your shoulder. At your inquisitive stare, Flowey grumbles incoherently and meets your gaze- as if already knowing what you want to ask.

"Listen, I don't really care about it or anything. I'm down here because unlike monsters, I don't have the capacity to _feel._ At all.I used to... A long, long time ago. But that's just it- it was _ages_ ago. It's a time long passed, and I'm not the same person I used to be. I've done terrible things that I wouldn't have done back then... I'm practically somebody else entirely now. And since I'm being honest here, you should probably know I can't really discern whether what you've done is really bad- since I can't empathize. All I see is that your looking out for your own skin. I can understand self-preservation _that_ much," Flowey explains, much to your disbelief.

Flowey can't feel emotions? Well... What about earlier when he was talking about colors? He looked pretty emotional to you back then.

...

The way Flowey seems to return his gaze ahead when your stare persists makes you replay every expression he's made throughout the underground while perched over your shoulders.

Something is a bit odd... It's as if Flowey's not telling you everything, but you don't try to push for more information. You know better than anyone else that sensitive information takes time to share- especially with people you've just barely met. You're not going to force the flower to tell you what he's not ready to talk about.

At least from what he's stated, you feel comfort in knowing someone understands why you've done this. On the other hand though, you still feel like the worst person ever for doing it, regardless of his past transgressions. Hopefully, Sans will wake up and get himself out of here before anything comes lurking about in search for the humming source...

_If anything happens to him, it'll be all my fault,_ You think, turning slightly pale at the thought the deeper Flowey takes you into the Underground.

"There's a way out past the CORE where we can probably worm our way out of. That exit the monsters used to leave the Underground was closed up with boulders so that no one could get in, but I've seen plenty of idiotic humans make their way down here despite the blocked entrance. If _they_ can get in, _we_ can get out," Flowey explains, no longer meeting your gaze as you look back up at them.

After a being carried a good distance through Waterfall, Flowey finally sets you down in front of a large mountainous structure within the large Underground, a tangy light from behind serving to make it appear as if there was a sunset behind it. Knowing you're beneath a mountain however, you quickly connect the dots to reason it must be Hotland's terrain causing that light- and your own desires to get out that makes it appear like freedom above ground.

Flowey's vines wrap around your legs and arms, down to your ankles and wrists with that reinforcing spiral to help you move faster. Looks like this is as much as he's willing to carry you for the most part.

"It takes a lot out of me to move us around like that, so you're going to have to hoof it yourself now, okay? This is as much as I can help you without passing out on you like smiley trashbag did. Just be thankful I decided to help you out in the first place," Flowey snaps defensively, crossing his leafy arms and wrapping a portion of your hair up in a long ponytail. 

"...M'kay," you simply respond with a slightly deflated tone, taking one glance back over your shoulder as you proceed to step into the structure and what looks to be a long corridor within it. Where is it supposed to lead to?

_If Flowey hadn't carried me all the way out here himself, I'd probably have still been close enough to turn around and get back to Sans,_  you think as you near the end of the corridor, reaching up to fix your bangs out out your face. Flowey says nothing in regards to your shifting expressions, thankfully. You don't think you'd have it in you to elaborate on the mess in your head, especially since you hardly understand your reasoning for it.

Lost in thought, you reach into your bra and pull that glass orb you got from Gaster's lab, eyeing it suspiciously. How could this object be the source of the humming you heard from literally _miles_ away? It's just a glass orb... And although Flowey was completely sarcastic when he first stated it, it really does just look like a crumpled piece of tissue paper inside of the thing. Why is this garbage so important? Why would Gaster not want that creature getting it's slimy tentacles on it?

You grip both ends of the glass orb with the gold band around the center between, carefully twisting until one end twists off and pops into your palm, leaving the thin cloth within unfolding and pouring into your hand. Surprised at the sudden unravel of the crumpled cloth, you grab it quickly so it doesn't fall and gawk in disbelief. Although thin, it's actually the size of maybe a small body towel, large enough to pull around your shoulders and have it only cover you down to your elbows.

"Whoa..." Flowey gapes as well when you stop to stretch it out. You move the fabric carefully so that you don't accidently rip it while you hold it out before you, cocking your head to the side as soon as you have it extended from one corner to the other. Something about it feels strange.

You gently pull both sides to test its resistance. It remains intact, bound firmly despite having such a thin consistency, and with reinforced confidence, you yank the sides with a merciless tug to test it a little more. Surprisingly, it _still_ does not rip.

"Here, give it to me now~!" Flowey cheerfully jumps at the idea of testing it with a rather mischievous cocky grin, whipping the fabric out of your hands with his vines before you can even agree for him to try it. Considering he's the only thing that's been keeping you alive recently, you make no objections and look up as the flower wraps his vines around both ends of the loosely held fabric... Before pulling both ends with a violent yank on either side.

** BBBVVVVMMM. **

There's a sound of the fabric vibrating with the momentum of the pull as it resists even the heartless pull of the demonic flower, causing the golden plant to raise a brow of offense, leer at the fabric, and then frown as he lets out an impatient growl. Flowey grips both ends and start pulling with all his might, made apparent from the strained glare he gives the durable fabric at hand as he continues to pull at it and try to rip it in half.

"WHAT THE HELL... IS THIS SHIT... MADE OF...?!" He barely manages to grit out, leaving you watching the flower as his eyes nearly buldge out in his efforts.

"I dunno. Kevlar? Spiderweb silk expertly binded together?" You suggest, making the flower stop to give you a weird look as you mention spiderweb silk. After a second of the Flower staring at you, he seems to come to a similar realization, relaxing his grip on the fabric and dropping it back in your waiting hands.

"Now that I think about it, that weird spider monster Muffet used to handcraft some really sturdy clothing for my f- I mean, the _royal family,_  a while ago," Flowey adds, quickly skipping past the slip up in his words to refocus on the strange cloth. You store the interesting slip up in the back of your mind for the meantime, but don't dwell on it at the moment since you don't want to make Flowey uncomfortable.

"And you think it's as sturdy as this? What a weird fabric," you huff, crumpling it back into a ball and stuffing it in the glass orb halves. Once you have it sealed again, you drop the glass orb in your bra and continue through the corridor, reaching the bend in the path as you turn into Hotland's entrance and-

Your breath catches in your throat as you see who is standing in plain sight a couple of yards away, causing you to freeze on spot like a deer in headlights.

_Sans never mentioned anyone else had come down here with him. He hadn't had the time to say anything,_ you remember, feeling Flowey stiffen as well over your shoulder, petals unfurled so that anyone would notice his presence if they just so happened to _glance_ in your direction.

Which is what someone is currently doing.

Because standing a few yards away is the tall figure of "The Great Papyrus" looking straight in your direction with unmoving eye sockets trained on both you and Flowey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Dadster is back home~!! 
> 
> *throws a party* *confetti galore* *throws sans*
> 
> He came home on Tuesday and he's doing well! As a result, I was so happy, I ended up writing this entire chapter the night he came home, giving me a head start to write the next one~! :P 
> 
> Had a blast writing this part, although getting MH's emotions across took a lot of revising to perfect :3 Can't say that part wasn't fun either- it's always fun deciding how to utterly CRUSH another character in the story :D
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)


	37. Guilt as Sticky as Glue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans wakes up after an indeterminable amount of time, where time is running its natural course once more. You're still moving in a frozen plane of existence, dealing with guilt and the horrible possibilities of what could happen to Sans.

 Chapter 37: Guilt as Sticky as Glue

 

**(Time Resumes 4 AM)**

...Something rough gently brushes over Sans' forehead, giving the sensation of air rushing between every bone joint in Sans' skeletal body.

Sans' eye sockets snap open as if he's been drenched with a vat of ice cold water, immediately catching sight of dark running water ahead of him, save for the many small echo flowers beneath his body where he half on the ground. They're juvenile flowers, so when Sans slightly gasps and scrambles back up in a seated position, they do not mimic the noises he makes. There's a tense moment where Sans freezes and allows his eye lights to fly around the small cavern he's woken up in, searching for signs that would reveal his current location as well as whether there was imminent danger in the area.

After a beat of a second passes, Sans entire body relaxes at once. He gently bumps the back of his skull against the wall behind him, testing his jaw and the movements between the major joints of his body. Once he has given himself a once over, he straightens back up and raises a hand to rub the sleep from his face. How long was he out? In fact... Why was he asleep in the first place...?

...

...!

A flash in his mind brings forth a memory of you standing before him with an uncertain, yet cold glare on him. Your expression shifting several times between emotions of anger, exhaustion, and strangely enough- _guilt._

Sans knows _exactly_ what you did, but doesn't try to sugar coat it for himself by thinking anything along the defensive lines as to _why_ you did it. It doesn't take much thought to come to the conclusion, after all, considering anyone else in your shoes is likely to have done the same.

Sans is a heavy skeleton, despite having less mass than most humans. You're an average sized human female with "noodle arms" as Undyne has put it in the past. You have the most strength in your legs, so even entertaining the idea of you dragging him through the Underground? That's just wishful thinking, especially with that creature from before likely chasing the two of you down. If you had continued to drag Sans along, the chances of that thing catching up to the two of you would almost be unavoidable.

Either way, you left him behind because you chose to save yourself over him.

Although he understands why you would choose your own safety over his, Sans admittedly feels stung regardless of whichever way he looks at it. It's the instinct of every living creature, both monsters and humans alike, to act on self-preservation. In stressful situations, it's only expected that some people might end up reverting to that primal instinct as a means to cope with danger.

For his own wounded sake, Sans tries not to let it eat him up too much. You were clearly conflicted by this, even with all that garbage you started spouting at him regarding monsters- him and his brother specifically- being the cause of your current situation. Sans wouldn't say it to your face, 'cause this would likely set you off on him, but hey, he and Papyrus didn't tell you to go following any strange light shows at night. And even if you _did_ blame it on monsters, well,

_What were we doing again...?_ Sans wonders, moving to use the back wall as leverage to get himself on his feet again. Sometime while in the lab or while you were dragging Sans along, he lost his slippers and one sock. Looking down, Sans wrinkles his nose-hole and pulls the remaining sock off. He raises an arm to toss it somewhere, but after a pause of reconsideration, he tucks it in his jacket pocket to add to his sock collection later when he gets home.

No point in feeling bummed out- if you've gone ahead, maybe he can catch up to you or something. Let's see how much anti-monster trash you spit at him when you see he's completely fine and back on his feet. He's not about to assault you or anything over something he's sure you already regret. His presence is likely to do enough to punch you in the feels hard enough.

Sans walks forward on his bare metatarsals, feeling the calcaneus of his foot sink into the moist soil of the ground as he moves over the small glowing echo flowers. Once he reaches the splashing waterfall, he pauses and gives it a thoughtful stare. There's no way past the waterfall without getting a little wet, yet Sans is completely dry from head to toe...

He's probably been out for a while if he was drenched long enough to have already dried out. As explained before, there is no way to get to this little secret room without going under the water.

_Wait... I thought she left me behind near the planks in that large aquatic area? Did she drag me all the way here so I'd be hidden in case that thing came after us? ...That doesn't make any sense. It would have taken her too long to drag me such a distance. I was helping her before, but I was completely out when she said.._.

Sans absentmindedly reaches up to trace the tips of his fingers against his cheek bones, as if he could maybe still feel the warmth of your hands there. After feeling only cold and half-wet bone from the spray of the waterfall hitting him where he stands, Sans drops his hand and sighs in frustration.

Either way, it would be counterproductive if you had dragged him _towards_ the direction of the creature, enduring the slow and tedious trip to hide him behind the waterfall and then leave. Sure, he could argue that it would have been the same thing if you'd have just _dragged_ him towards New Home instead to get out of the Underground, but if he's being honest here, you were having trouble helping him along. Humans don't fare well in the intense heat that Hotland produces. You wouldn't have lasted dragging Sans along in that area.

_And teleportation is off the list too,_ Sans thinks as he flicks his wrist gently, twisting his features into a grimace when his bones pop. Somehow, he felt a strange repulsive reflex in his magic after that spinning madness in the machine you forced him to hop into. At first, Sans thought he needed to puke or something- because although monsters may not do that _other_ thing, Undyne has puked _many_ times doing some of the craziest and weirdest challenges. Once the machine seemed to have ceased its spinning, Sans was far too relieved the two of you made it out alive that he almost hugged you based on his impaired, sleep-deprived judgement.

...Sans is still a little embarrassed, both by where he placed his hands and by what your reaction to that was afterwards. He could only be grateful that Undyne wasn't around to see it and rub it in his face later on out of sheer-

Wait.

Sans feels his eye sockets widen when something re-emerges in his memory.

You had _vines_ lifting you up when that creature tried to attack you. You even bumped your head on the ceiling and wrapped them around your limbs once you were on your feet again. Sans could even _feel_ magic welling up inside and around your soul when you pleaded for him to teleport the two of you out of there. So then... You had plant magic. Well, that could likely explain how you brought Sans to the hidden room behind the waterfall. Doesn't explain how you even knew of a room behind the waterfall to begin with, but he won't look that one in the eye too much. You could have stumbled across it earlier or something.

_Considering how she hit herself up against the ceiling like that... I think it's safe to say she doesn't know how to control them much. Just enough to get by, but not enough that she wouldn't be able to avoid some kind of accident,_ Sans thinks to himself, chewing on his lower mouth ridge. The group's going to have to find a way to convince you to let them help you practice your magic safely, in that case. Whether you're mad at them or not right now.

Honestly, it's probably a good thing he's considering all of this now. Half of him won't deny that he's probably stalling a little though, since he knows it's not only _you_ that's out there. If he ends up running into that creature, he might have to teleport away again. He's not as sleep deprived as he was before, but would it work? Or would he screw himself over and end up knocking himself out cold again?

First things first, he needs to look for you. You're the one everyone came down here to find and now that Sans has an idea (a vague one at that) of what kind of trouble you're in, he's not about to let you part without even a little bit of fighting back, for your sake of course. Even if he has to walk, he'll find you and make sure you're okay.

Filled with fresh motivation, Sans ducks his head down and takes a deep breath. He doesn't actually have to hold his breath to go under the waterfall or anything, but making sure his mouth is mostly closed and his eye sockets are shut will help keep any liquids from getting in his skull. Submerging in water entirely wouldn't bother him much, but if he's just crossing under a waterfall, he'd rather there _not_ be water streaming from his sockets and mouth like the undead skeletons from a few of those cheesy human horror flicks that air on television around the night. If you see something like that, Sans wouldn't know if you'd be terrified or find it hilarious.

...Maybe he should try that sometime to see your reaction.

Sans is just pulling to the other side of the waterfall when he finds himself femur-deep in water leading out into the main area of Waterfall, where another figure stands as they cross the small stream of running water. For a second, Sans is almost hopeful that it's you come back to check on him. Maybe you never left at all, and dragging him there was you changing your mind after verbally kicking Sans while he was down.

...Spoiler alert.

It's not you.

"SANS! Hell, what are you _doing_ back there?! Gah, consider yourself lucky I stopped myself from nearly turning you into a pin cushion!" Undyne barks loud enough to make Sans nervous and swing around to make sure nothing is about to jump out at them. He ignores Undyne for a moment in favor of examining the area, and as soon as he deems it safe, he faces the fish monster with a hardened stare of urgency.

"I found her," Sans quickly states when Undyne opens her mouth to say something, cutting her off from starting a sentence and watching her expression shift with unadulterated shock. Her jaw pops open slightly when her single gold eye flicks around him, but upon finding no one else, she nails Sans with a glare of confusion.

"And? Where is she?" Undyne demands, knowing he must have _some_ kind of reason as to why she's not around if he's found her like he says he has.

"Ah..." Sans sweats slightly, knowing there's no way around explaining what he has to say. As a result, he takes a deep breath and summons his inner Papyrus to summarize the long, _long_ story as concise as possible. "Ok, so to start, I found this door in Waterfall that I've never seen before, saw the same monster in there (Name) has met several times, Static, who I think did something that took me to this colorless version of the Underground where I found (Name) as she was looking through the CORE- though I didn't get the chance to ask what she was looking for or why- but besides that we got in this spinning machine and returned at my workshop in Snowdin with all the color back to normal and got chased by this _thing_ , where there was no way out but to teleport, and as a result I knocked myself out from both the spinning machine and sleep deprivation, and she left me behind saying all of this was us monsters' faults and now I don't... Exactly know... Where she's gone..." Sans says as fast as possible in one single breath, before beginning to trail off as Undyne's single gold eye starts twitching in disbelief by the information Sans has just dumped on her.

"...A door that you've never seen before... And you went _through_ it? Without calling anyone else?! You _idiot!"_ Undyne snarls, pulling her arm back and swinging a "light" (by her definition) fist in Sans' direction to show he's done goofed once more. Sans ducks out of the way deftly, giving the taller monster a sheepish grin. "I remember now, you know? EVERYTHING! I came down here looking for (Name) because I managed to still remember her soul through soul force despite my brain not remembering her! And just a few minutes ago or _something_ , I forgot who _you_ were! I was legitimately asking myself why Papyrus was mentioning a brother I couldn't remember! I even LIED and told him I knew who he was talking about! Now I know _why!_ " 

Sans' brow bones furrow slightly. "Wait, you're saying you think I stopped existing after I went and-?" Sans starts to ask, before Undyne grabs his wrist in her crushing hand. The skeleton's eye sockets turn empty with fear as she swings him over her shoulder like a doll, holding his legs behind her as she leans forward towards the direction of Hotland.

"Let's get moving while we're flappin' our gums, Nerdo. If you say there's something after her, then we can't waste any time standing around here like this, can we?" Undyne barks, taking off in a run that makes Sans cling to her shoulders tightly to keep from flying off.

On the bright side, although he was and _is_ still willing to do so, at least he doesn't have to walk anywhere on his own two legs.

Unbeknownst to the monsters, a nonexistent figure stands at the edge of the waterfall quietly, watching Sans and Undyne depart with a despondent expression of helplessness as they resign themselves to whatever fate has for their failures. Their astral form eventually fades away, leaving not a trace of ever being there in the first place.

* * *

**(Time Frozen 3:20 AM / +?? Hours)**

...

...

Minutes have ticked by, but nothing seems to be coming out of your staring contest with Papyrus from where he stands ahead of you.

"...How long has he been staring at us like that?" Flowey eventually inquires beside you lowly, petals tickling the wing of your ear as you silently stare back a the unmoving tall skeleton. He has yet to move a single bone of his body, standing frozen in place much like a statue. Even the expression on his face never twitches, leaving him staring at you and Flowey with narrowed eye sockets.

"No idea..." you respond, before forcing yourself to relax as your eyes drag over to another familiar figure you hadn't noticed during your alarm of finding Papyrus staring at you. This sight of this person only makes you gape at the pair with even more disbelief. "Druella?!"

...?

She does not respond, staring up at Papyrus rather than at you despite the skeleton's gaze so obviously trained on you. Confused by this blatant act of ignoring you when you're literally standing right  _there,_ you look over your shoulder to share a puzzled frown with Flowey.

It's like no one is moving at all in this zone, save for you and Flowey. Before this, however, when everything was monochrome, there wasn't even a single person around above ground. What does this mean then?

"...Hey, check  _that_ out!" Flowey exclaims suddenly when he glances away from you, pointing a leafy arm in the area just behind Papyrus' long pajama covered legs. Curious as to what has caught your companion's attention, you follow his pointing leaf to see what looks to be a very happy bloodhound hanging around by Papyrus.

Now, that in itself wouldn't be weird at all... If it weren't for the fact that the dog was _literally_ hanging around Papyrus, suspended in midair by seemingly nothing at all. The canine looks as if it's been frozen mid jump- aiming to snap their happy jaws and floppy tongue around Papyrus pajama covered femur.

"Wait, so we're _still_  not out of the timeless zone yet?! Why is there color then?! How did smiley trashbag manage to get all the way here with us?!" Flowey complains, making you frown and sigh in frustration.

You should have given Sans the chance to talk! He could have told you _exactly_ how he got there! How in the world _did_ he manage to find you in this timeless zone? Does it have to do with the fact that Gaster clearly has something to do with both him and Papyrus? Gaster had their baby teeth and a toy from each of them in the same box as the weird fabric you found... And Sans' key opened the thing up like a charm! If Sans hadn't been there, how would you have been able opened the thing up in the first place? Was Gaster planning to have Sans meet you half-way? Did _Sans_ know?

You lift your gaze to meet the unmoving sockets of the tall skeleton, walking a few steps closer and cocking your head slightly to the side inquisitively. If so, they why was Sans the only one to find you and get to the timeless zone? Why not also Papyrus? Why are these three frozen up like this? What does this all mean?

_That doesn't matter anymore, does it?_ A sour voice in the back of your mind snaps, making you jump with the reminder of what you'd done to the brother of the skeleton before you. _As you declared before- this is no longer your problem, it's_ theirs.

Your expression twists with conflict, but you skirt around Papyrus and Druella anyways, making a beeline towards the end of the corridor without looking back. You know you'll turn around and run back to the pair if you glance at them again. You already made your decision, and now it's time to stick to it. You can't take it back- Sans was conscious when you left him. There's no way he _won't_ remember this, let alone forgive you. You've conveniently given him _every_ reason to tack that target of his right back onto you.

You dug your own grave- now _lie in it._

The sensation of a headache blossoms around both your temples causing you to rub your face a bit. Once you've banished the horrible feelings out of the foregrounds of your mind, you focus your attention ahead. Your headache has diminished only a smidgen, but it'll have to do for now.

As you near the exit of the corridor, you're hit with a heatwave of humidity, making you stop to take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a few hours worth of sweating. If the heatwaves are going to keep hitting you like that, you _know_ you're in for a rotten trip through Hotland.

You stop when you reach the rocky path that makes up the beginning of Hotland, glancing over the edge at the lava levels with interest as they bubble and send bursts of heat up towards your face. Almost immediately, you pull back from the edge with a sour expression and keep walking ahead up the path.

"Hotland is definitely my _least_ favorite area to traverse, that's for sure. I can't exactly sweat as a plant, so every time I come here, I tend to overheat a little. I won't die or anything, since my body has enough magic to kind of cool me down, but... Let's just say I might start getting a bit loopy and doing questionable things later on. Don't worry though, I'm not gonna accidentally fling you over the edge. I won't get loopy to _that_ point," Flowey casually explains, much to your expressive horror upon turning your head to face him. At your stark expression of fear, Flowey just furrows his brow ridge in confusion. "I could have killed you _yesterday,_ what are you wearing that dumb expression for?"

You narrow your eyes and scrunch your nose a little in distaste. "You _did_ nearly kill me yesterday." As you say this, you pause to register his words and then relax your features into disbelief. Once you've absorbed exactly what he's just said, you reach up to scratch your head a little. "Wait, are you being literal or sarcastic about the 'yesterday' part? Has it already been the equivalent to an entire day?"

"...? You think I can tell the time of day down _here?_  That was SARCASM," Flowey huffs, watching you roll your eyes at his attitude and continue forward into the burning inferno.

"It feels like hell down here," you add, simply to make small talk and keep yourself from thinking about Sans. Of course, even thinking about not thinking about _that_ makes you feel bad. "And I'm getting hungry..."

"Oh, _sorry_ I can't properly deliver you reasonable hospitality past saving your ass and carrying you halfway through the Underground!" Flowey drawls humorlessly, clearly not understanding why you're talking to him at all. He looks down and picks up two different types of igneous rock along the path, lifting them towards you with a sassy glare. "So do you want rhyolite or granite? It's got silica, potassium and sodium content- all part of a balanced breakfast, am I right?"

You're glaring _really_ hard at Flowey, like he's an insect invading your personal space uninvited.

At this, he drops the rocks and shrugs casually, as if he'd been totally serious about you eating a rock. "Hey, you said you were hungry. Never said what _for._  Besides, as far as I know, that's what my ma always told me humans needed in their diet," Flowey comments, while you briefly consider which monster was dense enough to have figured _any_ form of those compounds were edible for humans.

"Sure, we need some of those things, but in smaller doses. And inside of something our stomachs have the ability to break down. If I went and swallowed a rock, it wouldn't dissolve and extract the necessary nutrients for my body- the rock would just come out of the other end completely intact and-" you start to explain, only for Flowey to wildly wave his half withered leaves and cut you off with a garbled shout of disgust. You immediately shut your mouth and quietly allow the non-monster to nail you with a grossed out look.

"You don't have to explain any further details! I get it! Don't tell me about the other end- SPARE ME THE DETAILS."

And so you quiet down.

Until you enter a large building and find yourself in the presence of what appears to be a very messy science lab full of unfinished lab papers, geek tech, and...

"...This is Alphys' lab, isn't it?" You blurt out, making Flowey give you this dry look of exasperation.

"What led you to that idea? The giant poster up there on the second floor with an cartoon cat-girl on it? Or was it the empty cups of instant noodles around the work desk?" The flower drawls, before raising a brow ridge when you face him and hold up a thickly bound manuscript that actually looks well taken care of despite being left in the Underground to rot.

"I think it was this Undyne X Reader fan fiction manuscript that did it for me," you say, watching Flowey's mouth pop open in disbelief as you give the front page a thoughtful look. You're not an artist or anything, but by the looks of the slightly off proportioned sketch of a rather bishi Undyne on the front cover, neither is Alphys. Considering you'd probably do worse in your own attempts, however, you can't bring yourself to laugh at the sight of it. If it were your drawing, Undyne's head would _definitely_ look a lot more off kilter than it does.

Flowey seems to have no problem laughing for the two of you at least.

"Hey, can I read it?" Flowey asks, making you clutch the thickly bound paper protectively against your chest as you turn your body to face the opposite direction of Flowey's offending vines. At your reaction, Flowey stops advancing and instead switches to complaining. "Well, why _not_ then?!"

"Because. That's an invasion of Alphys' privacy. How would you like it if I found _your_ journal and started flipping through the pages to find your deepest darkest humiliating secrets?" You demand, watching as Flowey puffs up his petals and straightens his stem up, adding to his sassy stance by placing both leaves at his "hips".

"Well, jokes on you, idiot, 'cause I don't _have_ a journal for you to rifle through~!" He answers rather proudly.

"Mm-hmm," you answer noncommittally as you , before adding, "Yeah, you look like you wouldn't have one."

...

"What's that supposed to mean? You insinuated something under that last statement just now, what was it?" Flowey realizes, narrowing his eyes on you when you turn away and start walking past the desk and this huge inexplicable hole in lab wall. The hole looks something like the remnants of a visit from the _Kool-Aid_   _Man,_ bursting through the wall to scream his famous line of,  _"Oh YEAH!"_

Just as you're about to make a joke about it, you quickly shut your mouth again. Flowey has been trapped Underground for a _very_ long time- fat chance he'd have even _heard_ of who the _Kool-Aid_   _Man_  is.

_You're down here because of monsters, right? Yeah. Totally_ their _fault, right? Tch. You're a selfish bitch..._  You think to yourself as you re-assess the cover of the Fan Fiction Alphys has written of Undyne. After staring at the short armed fish lady on the cover with her eye patch on the wrong eye, you face the hole in the wall and toss the bound manuscript back onto the floor. Like _you_ should be one to defend Alphys' privacy when you just left Sans defenseless body to rot in Waterfall...

"Let's just get out of here," you huff when your brain trails back to the subject of Sans.

Thankfully, Flowey says nothing about the return of your funky mood.

You're honestly not sure how much time has passed in this frozen world as Flowey guides you through Hotland, leading you to several of these strange platforms that quite literally hurl you in the air with steam power. Although Flowey elects to assist you on them and insults you by saying that you might kill yourself with your clumsiness, you prove the petaled maniac wrong and land all the jumps using the steam platforms on your own, always landing safely on either your hands or your feet without Flowey's help. Flowey shuts up pretty quickly about your earlier klutziness at that, but you don't rub your acrobatic skills in his face or anything. Besides, from the way the flower observes you as you make a jump, you _know_ he's impressed by your skills in movement. Why bother driving the point any further?

Making good on time and quietly casting looks around when you and Flowey exit one of Hotland's already solved puzzle doorways and enter an area bathed in shades of mauve, you open your mouth to ask how much further it is to New Home and the exit.

Before you can even draw a complete breath into your lungs, something bursts forth from the ground behind you, sending rubble your way. A large piece of metal hits your back with enough force to fling your forward onto your hands and knees, making your nerves coil up in horror when you reach back to make sure nothing has impaled you.

Much to your relief, there's nothing there except for the growing ache of impact. In the moment of your panic, Flowey has lifted up several criss-crossed vines from the ground that wrap around one another to block whatever's arrived, using two of the many squirming plant appendages to grab your waist and lift you up. At first you don't realize that these are Flowey's vines and you struggle a little, but feeling the tendrils swing you towards the doorway ahead is enough to let you know that you're in good hands.

The next room you and Flowey enter is as large as it is dark, prompting a small curse out of him when the two of you are plunged into literal darkness. 

It's funny how quickly one's perception of a situation can shift when you take away a variable from one's senses.

You blink several times in your efforts to speed up your crappy human night vision, panicking when you feel Flowey's vines shift around your damage prone form. They twitch and flex around your waist, giving you an all too accurate implication as to what Flowey might possibly be feeling at the moment.

Flowey is nervous.

But how can that be? He said he can't feel emotions, but isn't _anxiety_  along the spectrum of fear?

As if aware of your thoughts, you feel Flowey tremble even more, this time from where he hangs over your shoulder. You're not entirely sure what's going on with the flower, but you make an effort to lift your arm up and run your fingers along his petals carefully- a reminder that he isn't alone dealing with this even if you're not very useful at the moment.

Surprisingly, this seems to halt most of the flower's more serious quivers. Although you comfort Flowey, this in no way stops the wildly beating organ within your thorax to slow in its relentless pounding.

There's a tickle along the arm you use to brush your fingers against Flowey's petals, making you jump and reach over to see what's on your arm. You can hardly feel much other than those skittering tickles as Flowey swings you through the dark room. 

Outside where you left the creature, everything is dead silent, leaving you struggling to differentiate whether a sound is Flowey's vines moving around, or the creature having squirmed its way around the barriers Flowey left. It might have gone back under the metal platforms, like a worm burrowing back down into the earth. What are the chances that it'll manage to burst from the ground directly beneath you? It was pretty close in doing it just now, if the pain at the midsection of your back is any indication.

Midst your contemplations, you finally seem to realize what it is that's getting stuck on your arms and tickling you. They're _spiderwebs._

Flowey's vines vanish from around you, and they disappear from over your shoulder in a sudden inexplicable moment.

_What's happening_?

Your body catches several more thin strands of silk before you land in something sticky and flexible, catching your falling momentum and buckling under your weight. For a moment, the drastic shift in the material's elasticity causes your heart to skip a beat. Will it hold you? Or are you going to rip right through it?

The shifting stops, and slings back in reverse with its left over kinetic energy, making you bounce a little bit until everything goes dead silent. You're too terrified to move and you have literally _no idea what just happened._  Where is Flowey? Did he get knocked off of you? Is he hurt?

Or...

Did he leave you behind like you did to Sans?

...

Your mental queries are answered with the droning silence around you as you focus on listening on your surroundings, but no matter how much focus and effort you apply, there's nothing giving any locations away.

_Maybe he's leading the creature off in a different direction? That could be a possibility, right?_  

It might just be your guilt and paranoia playing tricks on you... But you remember Flowey looking at you strange after you started saying those awful things to Sans. He might have changed his mind about going up to the surface with you.

_Stop,_ you hiss to yourself, shifting an arm to see if you can feel around for a way out. _First, you need to find out where you are in relation to the other door out of here. There's probably a shift in light value where it is._

You look around until you spot one reddish tint in the distance ahead of where your head lays on the elastic trampoline like weave that has caught you. Yes! There's the exit! ...But which exit is that? The doorway you just came from? Or the doorway you're supposed to be heading?

_Fuck,_ you curse to yourself, before wrapping your fingers around the material under you to push up into a seating position. You pull your head away from the material, only to feel it stretch in the direction your head is moving, stuck entirely to the side of your face. When you realize that it's stuck to your face, you move to lift one arm and pull the sticky elastic material off of your face. Much to your horror, your arm does not budge from the material under you. For a heart stopping moment, you realize what it is you're stuck on, and freeze entirely out of fear.

_It's a spider web._  

You're not going to be moving anytime soon, and if Flowey really _has_  left you? You're as good as dead. Your only benefit is that it's dark as _hell_  in here if that thing stayed, and wherever Flowey has gone, chances are that the creature likely might have given him the chase and-

The feeling of a vibration from one of the strings of spider silk travelling all the way up to where you're stuck has your eyes widening slightly. Someone is still around. What concerns you is that if it was Flowey, he'd get you out of there and make his presence known. All you get from this unknown person in here is the thrumming of silk as they seem to move closer to where you are.

Your heart is in your throat at this point. What are the chances you'll survive stuck in this web, helpless and by yourself?

_Poetic justice._

You almost laugh at the words that pop in your head as you cling to the web beneath you, unable to loosen your grip from the silk now. How merciful that Sans passed out and didn't feel the horrifying extent of the feeling of helplessness. 

Honestly, half of you is also a little morbidly pleased by this turnout. If the creature is here, that means Sans is snoozing away safe under the waterfall... Well, unless it got to him first and caught up to you after dealing with him? No, don't think so pessimistically like that. He _has_ to be fine... There would have been no point to hiding him if he's not okay and you would _never_ forgive yourself for leaving him to be killed.

The vibrations along the thick thread of silk are getting stronger. Whatever it is that's moving along it is getting closer.

Maybe you deserve this.

You went and pushed them all away again.

Now you're all alone. 

Even if you wanted to, Sans is too heavy for you to drag around, but somehow that excuse seems so dishonest. You weren't thinking of that when you left him behind and you _know_ it. You left him because you _wanted_ to. Not entirely, but enough to commit the act anyways. You're self serving.

Tears prickle behind your eyes as you feel the vibrations come to a slow behind you, making you snap your eyes shut. You don't want to see it all go down. You've convinced yourself you deserve this, but you're not willing to watch the world fade away.

...

"UGH, will you _stop_ that already?! Golly, I leave for _one second_ and you burst into tears like this? Get a grip!" An accusatory voice snaps with excessive frustration somewhere in front of you. As you register the voice, a dim light flickers behind your eyelids. Surprised at the return of this voice in the silence of what you thought were your last moments and the presence of a light, you open your eyes in time to catch a glimpse of Flowey's stem as he scuttles over your backside, vines wrapping around you and sliding quickly at the sticky webbing that holds you prisoner. Is he holding a match or something? It's definitely not an ordinary light, that much you're aware of...

From the way your face is angled, you have to lift your head up to try and look at Flowey. You can't really see his, but raising your head helps him cut through the webbing fast enough for you to begin pulling away from the web. As you do, Flowey's vines tug you away so you don't get stuck all over again.

The moment, Flowey finishes cutting through the spiderweb, you're being carried in an indeterminable direction through the darkness.

"What happened? Where did you go?" You ask as you quickly try to wipe your tears away, looking towards the flower that you can now see holding a small lighter in one leafy appendage a good distance away from his face and slightly inwardly curled petals. Facing him, he turns his face a bit to the side, using the arch of the petals to hide his face.

"I went and trapped that thing in one of the puzzle rooms, the metal surrounding those stupid things are tough as can be and will buy us a lot of time to get this gunk off of you and start navigating through the maze in the CORE," Flowey explains, just as the two of you are bathed in dim lighting when you exit the dark spiderweb room.

With much more sufficient light than that of Flowey's lighter, you look down to see the mess of thick webs that were cut, most of the chunks still stuck to the front of your body. You've never heard of such a strong or sticky type of spiderweb silk like this! Must be the silk of a spider monster or something. Absentmindedly, you test the properties by poking the webbing stuck to your cheek, pulling away with a few strands that bind to the skin of your finger.

"Thanks..." You mutter halfheartedly. It's not that you're ungrateful, but... Somehow you feel guilty you got out of there alive. You feel like a _cheater._

"Stop crying or I'll give you a _real_ reason to cry," Flowey huffs irritably with a rather mellow tone, prompting you to raise your head in his direction. Yet again, he angles his face away from you, immediately setting off a few bells in your observant mind.

Instead of saying anything, you reach over and push a few petals back. Flowey quickly shakes off your touch and moves to settle above your ear, but you still manage to catch a small glimpse of his face just before he disappears out of your line of sight.

"Why are _you_ crying?" You ask hesitantly in confusion, immediately regretting it when Flowey snaps back rather heatedly, "I DON'T KNOW!"

You fall silent at his shout, resigning yourself to just let him lead you inside of a large structure within this area of Hotland reading _"MTT Resort"._  The moment the two of you are inside, Flowey sets you back down on your feet roughly, nearly causing you to stumble onto the ground.

...Instead, you stumble right over the edge of a large fountain inside of the building, landing with a splash and a careless snort from the flower weaving itself around your half soaked hair. In seconds, all the strands are pulled up in a bun.

"Let's get all this shit off of you while we have the chance. I don't want you to end up running into a wall and getting stuck from all that silk on your front side," Flowey states after wiping his own tears away and applying his focus back on you, vines rising from the ground to start pulling at the water weighed silk stuck to your stomach as you deal with the silk on your face.

While you pull at the soaked silk on your face, you can't help but wonder if Sans is okay or not. Seems like the creature overlooked Papyrus, Druella, and that dog for the time being, so maybe it's safe to say that the creature is _specifically_ after only you at the moment. 

Your mind trails back to the orb currently trapped in your bra from the ludicrous amounts of silk on your front. 

Maybe it's good that you took that stupid little glass thing with you and _didn't_ leave it back with Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *GASP*
> 
> I'M ALIVE, I SWEAR!
> 
> Blame finals!
> 
> Also, MASSIVE apologies if I haven't gotten to any of your comments as of late! T.T I'm super swamped with finishing projects and studying to my wits end!
> 
> On a side note, Metamaterialgirl has STRUCK AGAIN! Exactly two times! She draws things in a way my brain can't handle! ARGH, #ArtistGoals! I don't know if there are enough words to ever express how amazing I think her art skills are, but I'm going to damn well try to string it all together!! <333
> 
> The first, "Many Echo Flowers Died for This" is a result of chatting with Meta on skype. Somehow it resulted in a conversation about imagining Sans as a shoujo anime girl. Bam. 
> 
> The second is the beginning from Excavator X when Reader and Papyrus meet, and just... ;w; Where is this girl getting her skills from and where can I learn the ways of art??
> 
> Anyways, check the links below out and give her all the support and love she deserves~!
> 
> *violently throws mountains of roses at Meta's feet* *screams* THIS ISN'T ENOUGH ROSES!!!! >:V
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)


	38. The Lost Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Libby is worried that you've yet to come back, and while nearing the exit of the Underground, Flowey reveals a little more information than he means to drop.

Chapter 38: The Lost Prince

Libby jerks awake from a nightmate, a glistening layer of sweat barely visible with the moonlight hitting her forehead. Her arms are tangled and rolled around the sheets of her bed, obvious attempts to get rid of the heat trapping fabric despite the desire of comfort they bring when they cover her. She blinks her eyes around her room as if she's forgotten what was going on.

In her dream, she was waiting around somewhere to talk to someone about something that made her angry, but... Nobody came.

With a little flipping of the thought in her mind, she shakes the loose memory out of her head. It was just a dumb dream- it has nothing to do with reality.

The tall blonde rolls out of the confines of her bedsheets with a grumble of annoyance, kicking a few times until she reaches the edge of her bed and swings her legs down to the floor. Despite waking up to a nightmare in the middle of the night, she finds her balance easily and crouches to reach under her bed. Her hand brushes agains the spine of her leather bound spell book before she brings it out from under, situating herself with her back against the side of the bed and the book in her lap.

Instinctively, Libby flips through a few pages of her spell book until she's at that familiar page once more, staring at the many little stones clinging to her friends and acquaintances by the spell of captivation. The thin slivers of pink quarts glimmer like soft sparks as she flips through the names, pausing when her eyes land on the first shard of quartz. Below the first stone at the top left corner of the page is your name written in a script Libby's long grown out of using, the way too rounded curves of letteres taking up more space than necessary. Absentmindedly, Libby traces her finger along the surface of the stone and sighs a little.

The stone has long since dimmed in comparison to the other stones around it- barely at work due to your long exposure to the enforced magic. 

Libby's other hand reaches under the bed to pull out another book.

It's your diary. She found it laying on the living room floor earlier in the day upon stopping to drop off some groceries between class and work, but curiously enough, you weren't around. Decidedly, she tucked it away and planned to give it back to you as soon as she came back home. Unfortunately, due to her exhaustion and the direction the conversation between you and her went, the diary happened to escape her mind. By the time you were gone, she completely forgot and...

...What was she doing after that?

Libby pushes her leather spell book down off of her lap gently and stands up with your diary at hand. She walks out to your bedroom and tucks it between the mattress and your pillow- where it rightfully belongs- not even giving it a second glance as she fixes the sheets of your bed and steps back. The self-sustaining trash tornado Sans pranked you with is still blowing strong in the corner of your room, sending a pleasant breeze along her warm semi-exposed body.

You're still not home and it's already 4:14 A.M.. 

Libby feels her heart skip a beat and bites her lip, glancing away from your alarm clock by your bedside and wrapping her arms around herself.

She let your minor disappearances pass the first two times without calling anyone because she was afraid of approaching the police and getting either brushed off or verbally harrassed for always being the one getting yanked in there. They talk down to her, cat call and speak far too lewd to her for comfort- enough that she's not sure they'd help if _she_ were the one asking.

The first time you went missing and Sans told her to call the police... She couldn't bring herself to do it. To face the officers- to be called in and have them hovering just a little too close to her. Talking to her sweetly and sarcastically- dropping _innuendos_ and other insinuated tidbits. Making her skin crawl when they brush against her. She begged the higher power who gave her family the access to magic that you were okay. Begged for your life's protection, no matter the severity of the situation. She even pulled off a few toenails as a means of bargaining with the higher power to watch over you.

Libby is a witch, and she could put those horrible cops in their place if she really wanted to.

...However, using magic in a hostile way out of it's intended purpose is not worth the cost. Attacking someone like a cop, most of whom are on a radar due to their job title, would only cause a ripple in the plans of the family coven. Magic usage is only permitted for premeditated tasks. Suddenly using magic on a whim? Punishable. Probably to a fate worse than those cops could administer. 

Worse than the classic "Three-fold Law" of the other witch family, the Wiccas, which does not apply in Libby's coven.

The police officers are untouchable, as a result, since Libby is too embarrassed by their earlier meetings to say anything in regards to what they do.

...Libby momentarily wonders whether they've done those things to other girls. She wonders if any of the three men cops haves wives or daughters blissfully unaware of

Staring down at your bed, Libby flexes her toes against the floor, feeling the stinging ache of her lost three toenails from her left foot. Half of her is angry that you're causing more trouble than you're worth. The other half can't blame you for it, in the end. She's likely caused you just about the same amount of grief with her own mishaps, like the time when the two of you were in high school and she met a match on an online website that ended up drugging her drink at a local restaraunt. You'd jumped in your car like a cheeta and went speed demon towards the restaraunt the moment you got her frantic call, Libby managing to get to the bathroom as soon as she seemed to come to a conclusion on why she was feeling so strange.

You hadn't hesitated.

Which made Libby only feel worse about ignoring Sans' advice to get the cops on the job. There was a chance that one of the better cops would greet her and not one of the ones that usually handle her past indiscriminate behavior. 

Libby has done some bad things in her life. Libby has also done _worse_ things than those cops could ever hope to imagine, if they dared to imagine it at all. She's grown up a killer, but she's _careful_ in execution. No one that could be traced, no one necessary to society, nobody anyone would look for- those are the people she targets. And only those she deems truly awful at heart. There's hardly a sensible excuse to make when it comes to picking and choosing who dies- it looks bad even if she's picking the worst of the worst to be given to the higher power.

Sometimes, the higher power asks for multiple targets or even someone specific though, like the money laundering pair they grabbed only recently.

Those two got extra money paying larger men to snag children, promptly selling them to human traffickers. Whatever the reason the higher power decided they wanted the horrid pair, Libby was only too happy to sweep up the roaches and prepare the shipments to go to the regular meeting place.

She's gone on a tangent. Perhaps a subconscious attempt to delay the inevitable choice she has to make?

The issue right now is that you've yet to return- and Libby has to make another choice. Rely on the higher power and pull off a few more toenails, or go to the cops and show then she's not scared of them.

...

Libby turns away from your room to stalk back to her own, taking a seat on the bed and reaching for her smart phone by her windowsill. The moon is still streaming in brightly around the half opened shutters, giving a reasonable amount of light to see the kitten at the corner of her room rolling to get in a more comfortable position. 

The smart phone lingers in Libby's hands for a minute or two, before she puts the device back on her bed and walks to the bathroom to retrieve a bowl and a few tools to get the protection spell started.

* * *

 

You didn't bother to wring the water out of your clothes after getting the weird sticky webs off of you, choosing to walk through the rest of the demented Underground soaking wet. Your hair is the least affected by the water, likely due to Flowey binding it up in the bun it's still currently held in. 

You've been relatively quiet since arriving at MTT Resort and even now that you're very close to the end of the road, you've yet to say anything at all. It's not that you're shy or that you're irritated with him- in fact, you're hardly bothered by how he yelled at you when you asked. You _did_ sound a bit condescending when inquiring it, whether you meant to or not.

A little quiet won't hurt anyone... Besides, you've been up for a while past the first signs of your exhaustion following the date with Papyrus.

...

Your shoes are gone. They were already worn when you donned them that night, but they met their end while Flowey was removing you from the web you got caught on. The soles of the shoes had torn severely between the force of Flowey's pulling and the stubborn material of the monster spider silk, and caused more problems to continue wearing than to just toss them. Thankfully, the heat of Hotland doesn't affect the temperature within the CORE by much, and the metallic platforms and halls do not burn your feet as you walk.

You wish it did though.

Avoiding any unsavory thoughts, you continue onwards with Flowey to help point you in the right direction. The smell of metal and chemicals is strong in the air as you walk, and you can hear the sound of gears and the searing sizzle of cold water as it pours out from the many ducts throughout the CORE. Some noises make you jump every now and then, giving you the spook that the creature has finally caught up to rip you and Flowey to shreds.

By the time you've reached the final corridor leading out of the CORE, Flowey seems to have noticed how quiet you've gotten.

He glances at you several times after unwinding from beside your ear- as if trying to get you to talk first so he doesn't have to. Moving into your line of sight is a surefire way to get you asking if he needs anything. Rather than take the bait, you pretend not to see him.

...Okay, you can understand why he yelled at you earlier, but _maybe_ you're still a little bitter over the yelling thing. That kind of attitude just lights a fire inside you, and since you're unwilling to get hostile and provoke the murderous flower into killing you with fighting words... Ignoring him and giving him a taste of his own medicine will have to do.

The doors to the elevator you're standing in opens with the sound of a gentle bell, much like elevators on the surface do. As you stare down the corridor ahead, you cock your head slightly to the side suspiciously. It looks monochrome again. In fact... It looks a hell of a lot like the amethyst ruins. Except there's no amethyst walls whatsoever, everything is washed out shades of gray from black to white.

You're not sure you _want_ to proceed seeing this. Is it a trap by Gaster? Are they not letting you go like they said they would? Was it all just talk?

"Don't worry, New Home always looked like this. He didn't have the same taste _she_ did when it came to colors," Flowey states, as if using this as an excuse to finally start a conversation. "We'll see a bit of the color cream as soon as we pass this main area."

There's a nod on your part as you push off from leaning back against the wall of the elevator, sticking a foot out to stop the doors from closing on you. Stepping out, you find immediate relief upon the disappearance of the chemical smell in the CORE, inhaling the warm air despite how stuffy it is in the underground. You can't complain though, at least it's better than the smell of unknown chemicals waiting to melt the vesticles of your lungs.

"...By the way, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" Flowey finally blurts out the million dollar question.

_I thought that's what you wanted!_  You wish you could snarl as a flash of your temper makes itself known in your head, before you calm your nerves and answer, "I'm just thinking to myself."

"Hm... Still not over leaving Smiley Trashbag behind, I see. I don't... Understand. You got mad when you saw a bottle of ketchup, but in the lab, you didn't try to hurt him or anything. Heck, at one point, I thought you were gonna _kiss_ him!" Flowey makes a gagging noise, shifting so you can see the face of one another. He's likely done this to see the scarlet hue of embarrassment and anger that is starting to burn at your cheeks, but much to your dismay, he doesn't stop _there._  "You know, it doesn't really seem like you hate him all that much when you're around him, and now you're moping over leaving him in a relatively safe hidden room? What's the deal then? I don't get it! Do you hate him, or do you like him?"

Your eyes narrow on the flower as he startes back at you with subborn yet studious black beady eyes.

"I-!" You start, before clicking your tongue in frustration and looking away. You're on the fence when it comes to Sans. Regardless of what he did, no, you're not about to be jumping for joy that you've left him to rot behind a waterfall while an unknown entity rips the Underground apart looking for the two of you. "He played these awful pranks on me and verbally harrassed me when we first met face to face. I thought... We first came in contact when I accidentally send a message to a wrong number that just so happened to be his. He was funny. I liked his jokes and his suave manner of pretending to be a relaxed version of his brother. It was _different._  I wanted to be friends with him, but then... Everything just went _downhill_ from there. He didn't like me at all. He played me for an idiot, and then started threatening me _while_ playing horrible jokes on me."

Your hands fist at your sides as you glare at the ground. Anger makes the thought of leaving him satisfying, but only for a sliver of a second. As soon as you feel it, your fists relax and your rage shifts into something a little more melancholy. Your expression drops with relief.

"...He apologized today before I went out with his brother. I don't know if I should believe him after everything he's done. I don't know if I hate him, and I don't know if I like him. Some aspects of him I appreciate- like some of his puns and how he seems to be... Trying. I hesitate to call it that though, since there hasn't really been enough time for him to prove it yet," You admit, reaching up to rub your arms and hug yourself a bit. "I just wish we started out on the right foot. _Before_ Libby went and opened her mouth about telling them how I felt about monsters. I don't really even dislike them, I just don't... I don't _like_ being around people!"

You're not sure how, but Flowey gives you a scrutinizing look at your last comment, though his expression is mildly confused as he does so. You're walking down a path leading out to the main capital, where you can see a bunch of abandoned buildings and structures that were likely buzzing with chatting and conversations of the like among it's residents. Before you can step in that direction though, Flowey moves you with his vines to keep you on track along the visibly marked gray path below. You decidedly look away from the city and continue past the cave opening leading to it. The Underground sure is vast for being under a mountain...

"Are you _sure_ about that?" He asks, watching your expression twist with discomfort.

...

"...No," You decidedly answer after a moment. "I guess... Alphys, Papyrus, and Undyne are cool to be around. When Undyne and Papyrus _aren't_ cooking, at least."

Flowey snorts in amusement. "You know, if we had walked through Waterfall the _right way,_ we would have passed Undyne's old house. The fire she set off with Frisk four months ago during cooking lessons left the house in a pretty shitty state, and that same fire's been going since she left. Frankly, I'm surprised the smoke from the damn place hasn't overloaded the entire Underground," Flowey comments lightheartedly, before pointing at the path ahead. " _Anyways~_  Behold. New Home."

You roll your eyes at how Asgore's named the Underground's capital, a smile playing at your mouth a bit. Getting all of that off your chest and talking to someone _else_ other than the judgemental Libby or those which the frustrations stemmed from (monsters), you feel as if the weight on your shoulders has gotten a bit lighter.

"King Asgore needs to work on his naming skills..." You comment, before setting your eyes on the entrance ahead, past a small patch of raked gray leaves. They appear to have been raked around  the front yard and promptly raked back together several times, as if trying to recreate a chore from a time above the surface. You remember the dead tree in the amethyst ruins and feel a gunshot of sympathy in your thorax as you stare down at the meaningless pile of obviously fake dead leaves.

"They're just _leaves!_  Why are you getting emotional over that?" Flowey demands in confusion, surprising you since he can't even see your face from where he's looking over shoulder.

You shake your head as he says that. "It's not the _leaves_ Flowey. Look... Someone who lived here was recreating the chore to make it _feel_ like they were on the surface. Like there were dead leaves that could fall to the ground here. Even those stones in waterfall that looked like stars- some of these monsters had never even seen _trees_ before reaching the surface, but this monster here was trapped after seeing everything. They-"

"This is where King Asgore lived."

The words stop dead as he says this. Somehow, you feel stupid for not realizing it sooner, but then...

"...Just King Asgore? What about Toriel?" You inquire curiously.

"She lived in the ruins, away from Asgore. They separated because of King Asgore's announcement for war against the humans, following the death of his children at the hands of humans.

If you had been holding something in your hands, you'd have dropped it the second you heard what Flowey said. Your eyes widen in horror as you turn to look at the flower, watching as he glances away from you with a quick turn of his head.

"They... Had _children_ that _died?"_ You ask in such a soft and low voice that you're sure Flowey wouldn't hear you. Suddenly, you're thrust into an altogether _different_ perspective.

Extremists. Racism at it's worst- something you could _never_  condone regardless of a monsters age. Just hearing that a gentle monster like Toriel and the flower tending Asgore had lost their kids due to such meaningless violence is enough to make you sick. You wonder what their kids would have been like, raised by such benevolent powerhouses. 

"Yeah. Keep going," Flowey says, his command only a little more halfhearted as you move to continue into the house, which looks like a replica of the home you only caught a glimpse of when in the Ruins. Flowey continues as you head for the stairs, barely noting the chain that hangs unlocked by the railings leading down to the stairway. "There was Asriel, the birth child of Toriel and Asgore. And then there was..."

Flowey seems to hesitate as he tries to say the name, choking on the first syllable. A quick clearing of his throat and he finally says it with no problem.  

"...Chara."

The way Flowey looks as he speaks, the expression of conflict on his face as he forced the name out... It's almost as if he had a personal connection to the family. Was he part of another royal family? Did he know the kids and Asgore and Toriel personally? After all, he kind of slipped up earlier with saying that Muffet used to make his family clothing of spider silk- his _royal_ family. Hard to brush that comment off...

But you don't press for details.

"Chara was the first human to ever fall into the underground, but at the time, people weren't as wary of humans, much less a human child like Chara. Sure, there was the fact that humans trapped monsters down here, but... That was a long while before. Way before I was born." At this point, Flowey seems to have noticed he's said something off, and hesitates to see if you'll ask anything. When you keep your mouth shut and give the flower a glance to get him to continue, he does. "Toriel and Asgore took Chara in after Asreil found them. They fell from that same hole you and Frisk had. That's where they were buried too. Chara lived with us for a while, until they passed after ingesting something with buttercups incorperated into them. Once they passed, they asked to see the flowers of their old village. Out of grief, Asriel accidentally fused Chara's soul with his own. Chara took control at that point, and picked up their body, taking it up to the surface past the barrier to their old village."

You blink in surprise at the revelations in the story. Chara and Asriel accomplished exactly what you heard had caused the monster-human war so long ago.

Monsters really _can_ absorb human souls. However... He said Chara was the one that controlled the body the two souls joined into?

"When Chara made it to the village, they were attacked by humans. The humans in the village hadn't seen a monster before, and when they saw the body of a child in the arms of what looked like a beast... They attacked. Chara brought themselves to the village- not to see the flowers at their village one last time, but to wipe out the humans at the village. See, Chara climbed up Mt. Ebott because they _hated_ humanity. I'm not even talking anything low-scale here. They despised mankind. In fact... They ingested buttercups with the full knowledge that Asriel might accidentally absorb it in his grief over Chara's death. Unfortunately for Chara... It didn't go as planned. Asriel didn't _want_ to hurt humans. He was kind, and didn't believe in violence. With that, he took control of the situation agains Chara's soul and left without engaging the humans, taking Chara's body back to the Underground again."

You hang on to every word that escapes Flowey's mouth like glue, enough to make a visual in your mind of what might have happened. You pass by an opening that reveals more of the capital of New Home, but barely give it a glance as you listen to the tragedy. Flowey's voice is thick with different emotions depending on what he describes. _Real_ emotions. You know they're genuine- they certainly aren't being conjured up by your imagination.

"Asriel's body sustained too many wounds up on the surface though. He succeeded to stop Chara from killing anybody, like he could have. Causing a monster and human soul to merge like that creates a monster of unfathomable power. Humans can't achieve the same, only monsters can absorb humans souls. Any reversal, like humans absorbing a monster soul, is simply impossible by nature. As a result, the dominant soul will always be monsters and _not_ humans. It's why humans became so paranoid in the first place. If humans could have absorbed monster souls themselves, there would be equal ground, right? As twisted as it sounds, they probably wouldn't have shoved monsters under a mountain if that was the case."

You pause at a junction where an elevator and a doorway leading into a room with gold light streaming in split. Before you can ask which direction to take, Flowey points towards the golden hallway.

"Side note: This is Sans favorite place in all the timelines. It's where he judges, using that nifty ability of his to look into another's soul," Flowey adds, watching as your jaw drops when you take your first steps into the long corridor. It's like everything is _made_ of gold, with these magic glowing windows that seem to emulate sunlight streaming in without an actual sun to serve as the light source. Behind the "windows", you doubt there's an outdoors. Still, it's a gorgeous hall, and you hesitate to speed walk through it. You want to commit the place to memory.

...If you imagine it hard enough, looking ahead down the hall, you could almost picture Sans standing at the very end with that skeletal grin of his and his pink slippers, hands shoved in the pockets of his blue hoodie like he's got nowhere important to be. His outfit lacking in much thought or effort all the while studying you with a shocking amount of intelligence.

_Aloof joker._

You blink, and Sans' imagined silhouette vanishes as fast as you've imagined it to be there, fading like dust in the wind of a gentle breeze.

_Dear god, that's a horrible metaphor,_ you realize, going slightly pale and finally committing to speedwalking the rest of the way to the end. You don't want to think about him, and being in a place described to be "Sans' favorite place" only makes thinking about him harder.

...

...?

_"Timelines"?_

You keep your mouth shut at Flowey's slip, peeking at the flower as you walk to make sure he hasn't noticed his own slip. Much to your relief, the flower is quietly staring ahead as you break into a jog, eager to get away from Sans' judgement hall. By the time you've passed the next corridor and followed Flowey's instructions, you find yourself in a green and yellow room- a sea of flowers erupting around the center in such a gorgeous fashion that you stop before you can trample over them. Half of you is shocked that these flowers, as well as the flowers in the Ruins, are so well kepts. 

Taking a moment to consider the work that leads to having healthy flowers, you note the wilting flower tied around your hair and head. You connect the dots and let a small smile play at your lips. For being so unstable and murderous, he's also a _gardener._  Maybe he's not such a lost cause after all!

"This is where Asriel turned to dust, after the wounds on his body finally took a toll on him," Flowey huffs, immediately wiping the smile off of your face. "This is where Asriel died."

Your heart clenches with empathy.

"...Afterwards, King Asgore announced the war on humanity, out of sheer grief for his two lost children. He said he would take the souls of humans that crossed the barrier, and using seven souls to match the seven mages that trapped monsters here, he would break through the barrier and take monsterkind back to the surface. After time passed, he realized his folly in attempting to call war against humanity. He was just sad at the loss of his son. Following the announcement, Toriel was disgusted with King Asgore, and she left him in New Home, fleeing to the abandoned Ruins to hide away from the monsters. No one actually really knew where she'd gone, save for those that lingered in the ruins, due to being unable to pass through the cold of Snowdin. Toriel didn't come out until Frisk made an impression a many years later. She stopped the cycle, and stopped Asgore from taking Frisk's soul in the end."

Everything Flowey says makes you rethink how you feel about King Asgore as a whole, no longer the sweet gardener you once thought him to be. Your stomach churns for a bit, looking at the monster king under a whole new light.

_Maybe it's a good thing you broke it off with monsters then._

"...That's really tragic, Flowey," you comment after a second, seeming to snap Flowey out of his musings once you've finished digging through your own thoughts. 

"Yeah. I know," Flowey replies, sounding a little bit more nonchalant than normal. It almost seems forced, and you bite your lip as a result to avoid speaking before you've gathered your thoughts on the new information.

You have a few bits of proof, and slips from Flowey forgetting to censor himself as he talks. It's probably not enough to go by, but something else you've noticed as you've spoken to him.

Before when you were in hotland with him, trying to tear the thin humming fabric, he mentioned a "The" Royal family following, "My" family. So that insinuates that there is only _one_ Royal family. The Dreemurrs, as it's been mentioned several times.

So if Flowey is part of a royal family, and the only royal family in the Underground is the Dreemurrs... Then...

...

"...I wish I had more words for you, but I doubt you'd want mouth work like _that_ after everything you've been through," you speak up after a moments hesitation, feeling Flowey stiffen up by your ear. For a second, you think you've said something that could push him to kill you right then and there, but you continue anyways. "I could never understand what you've been through. I can only imagine it and empathize as best as I can. There are a few things I don't understand about you and your current state but... You don't need to tell me. Not unless you really want to. If you never tell me, that's okay too."

Flowey is silent for a good minute, leaving you hanging where you stand.

Following another beat, Flowey nods and relaxes significantly.

"Thanks," he replies, looking even more worn than you've ever seen him. You reach up to brush your fingers against his petals with a smile that doesn't really reach your eyes.

"Mm-hmm. This is the end of the Underground, right? As soon as we pass the corridors ahead... We're home free?" You ask, feeling Flowey lean to meet your gaze with a nod.

"Yes. This is the end of the road... Are you still taking me with you? I mean, I still think you're making a big mistake," Flowey adds in his own input, while you shake your head and looks away at the corridor ahead.

"No, this is right," you tell yourself, despite your brain going through the risk involved bringing Flowey... or whichever of the two children of Toriel and Asgore they are. In the end, you banish the thought and continue towards the end of the Underground with rising confidence, pushing through the golden flowers and making a slight face as the seeds of the flowers stick to your ankles when you pass.

By the time you've reached the end, you notice that Flowey has gotten rather silent himself. You don't stop though, walkin through the doorway and towards the end of the hallway.

"We're going home," you add with finality, leaving no room for arguments. Your feet feel like they're about to blister at any moment, but as you push the rest of the way to the end, your goal getting closer and closer.

You reach the very end to see a bunch of rocks covering the entrance, but smile at the sight of a small exit you can squeeze right through. With eager bounds, you jump for the small exit and squirm right through towards the otherside. You nearly get stuck, but Flowey helps you by pushing you out from the inside with a vine against your feet, sending you head over heels in a roll.

When you catch your breath and push off from the floor to see what side of the mountian you've ended up on, you find the air stolen from you lungs at the sight before you.

The moon is bright and there are stars in the sky, overlooking the city scape. Atop your shoulder Flowey looks at the bright lights within the city and it's buildings, chock full of people and cars as you look down with Flowey at your side. He's never seen any of this before, and his jaw drops at the sight. You vaguely note how he tightens his vines around your head as if scared, but let him come up with his own thoughts.

The view is beautiful in all aspects. It leaves you feeling breathless as you gaze down upon it. There's still a lot of questions you've been left with after everything Flowey has told you, but right now? RIght now is not the time to ask them.

Because the thing about the beautiful city... Is that nothing below moves whatsoever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Screams in ASL*
> 
> *Whisper* I can't feel my left wrist right now...! 
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)


	39. Back to Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You leave Mt. Ebott and look for a way back to your home despite the city being frozen. Meanwhile, the monster team and Druella struggle to catch up to you before you disappear once more.

 Chapter 39: Back to Reality

 

Air scrapes uncomfortably along the dry walls of your throat, giving to a soft coughing fit as you stumble closer to the edge of the mountain path than is probably reasonable. Your heart hammers in your rib cage as you stare down at the brightly lit cars and buildings in the streets a long ways ahead, lighting up what was once an inky, colorless darkness upon your first trip towards Mt. Ebott.

_Nothing is moving,_ you think to yourself again, looking around at the frozen city and the frozen waves barely lit at the coast, arcs of water and sea foam raised in mid air as if put on pause by an unknown force.

Now that you think about it, it's very quiet. Save for the blood pounding in your ears and your breathing, it's dead silent. It's like the world has stopped in every single aspect. Looking up with Flowey, the stars even seem to have stopped twinkling. The night sky looks static, like a background rather than the expanse of space and planetary satellites that lay past it.

Forget the world stopping for you. It's like the _universe_ has stopped.

"Well. This is gonna be a bit of a problem," Flowey says with a click of his tongue, as if trying (failing) to lighten up the mood at this new obstacle.

Rather than answer him, you look down the mountain path using the limited light reflected from the moon above. It isn't much, but it's _enough_. Normally, you'd probably complain about it, but after traversing the underground and putting yourself in the path of danger, you can't help but feel grateful that you even _have_ the moonlight as a light source. After all, it could have been a moonless night, for all you know.

"Here, I've got this," Flowey sighs after a moment, raising himself over your ear a little.

Before you can object or agree, you find yourself raised off the ground by your waist. In the limited light, six vines extend outwards from the wrapped tendrils around you, resting the ends on the ground like insect legs. Without waiting for more input, Flowey lunges forwards off the edge of the mountain much to your inherent shock.

All that manages to escape you is a gasp of surprise when you feel the impact of the vines as they meet the wall of rock behind, sliding slightly before finding balance and skidding quickly down the precipice with little effort. Clouds of dirt form behind you, lifting up slightly before freezing along with the rest of the universe around you. A few stones chip and hit you here and there, but instead of complaining, you lift an arm to shield your face a bit. Your other arm and hand remain glued to the vines around your waist, tightly gripping the tendrils in case Flowey slips and you have to rely on your own power to remain steady. 

By the time you reach base of the mountain and look back up with Flowey, there is a remaining trail of cloudy dirt frozen from where he'd helped you skid to the bottom. For a second, you think that the creature from before could use it to try and track you down, but then let out a dry snort lacking amusement. If it wants to track you down, all it really has to do is listen for the hum from the cloth when it starts up again.

You blink and pull your sports bra back from your chest to look down inquisitively at the glass orb resting against your glistening, dirty skin.

More like _if_ it starts up again. Since the moment you first extracted it from that box in Gaster's lab, the item has gone relatively silent. It's almost as if it just _wanted_ to be found, and no longer needs to call out for anyone now that it's with you.

A chill runs up your spine at the thought. A cloth with a sentience? Only makes you wonder what kind of weird tests went on down in Gaster's lab, considering Flowey's state as well. He's a flower, he _says_ he's a flower and not a monster. Maybe a sentient cloth isn't too far from the truth either...

"You don't know who Gaster is," you say more than ask after a moment of thought, looking up and finding Flowey leaning out to meet your gaze.

"Yeah. I have no idea who Gaster is... I thought we already went over this?" Flowey huffs, looking unimpressed by your words as you start sifting through odd inconsistencies in your memories. 

"...Isn't that kind of _weird_ though? I've described them to Undyne, Papyrus, Asgore, and Alphys already, under a different name sure, but with a visual description... Yet neither of _them_ know who Gaster is either. Aren't monsters close? How could people working so close to King Asgore- including the king himself- not know the existence of a monster like Gaster?" You question, watching Flowey's unimpressed stare level with yours as he continues progressing towards the city on his insect-like vine legs. 

"I don't know. Maybe the same way no one could find Queen Toriel after she left King Asgore. I know it was sort of cramped down there, but we weren't limited in hiding spots. Not to mention there are hundreds of unexplored chambers going deeper into the mountain. The only reason monsters weren't crawling all the way down to the depths of the mountain is because most of it gets hotter down there- hotter than even Grillby can handle, who is the most heat resistant fire elemental monster to date due to his old age. Besides Queen Toriel and King Asgore, he's the only other boss monster left in the underground. Hasn't really gotten together with anyone in his time while above ground, so he doesn't age," Flowey explains, making your eyes widen.

"Huh? Wait... Alan told me Boss Monsters are the strongest monster sub species and that they can withstand having their souls destroyed for a few seconds after death. What's this about a correlation between getting in a relationship for him to age though?" You ask, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Boss Monsters only age alongside their offspring. It's why Asgore and Toriel are still around. My physical body- _Asriel's_ body- turned to dust. As soon as I stopped growing, so did my mom and dad," Flowey reveals, much to your surprise. You didn't mean to bring the topic back to him, and now you feel a tad bit guilty. On the other hand, Flowey only looks a little uncomfortable, but still... You don't want to reopen old wounds. At least you know _which_ of the two kids turned into Flowey now though. "Since Grillby never had a partner, let alone a child, he's just lingering around. Not aging even the small amount my mom and dad did. Anyways, the head at the bottom of the mountain? Too hot for even _him."_

You jump at Flowey's change in topic, allowing the air of discomfort to fade as he weaves around trees and bushes with you. "There's a difference between what Toriel and Gaster do though. Tori just lived in the ruins by herself with books- she was docile and calm. It's easy to overlook someone who isn't doing anything that would grab someone's attention. Gaster, on the other hand, had his own fucking lab under the CORE. Don't you think Alphys would have noticed the machinery at work under the power source of the entire Underground's working electronics and lighting? I mean, she's the _royal scientist._ If someone sabotaged her work like that, I don't think it would just go over her head and... What's that look for?"

Flowey glares down at your collar thoughtfully, frowning and murmuring something to himself as his vines come to a minor pause along a small break in the dense woods, setting you back down on your feet and shrinking his roots and vines back so they're only around your head again.

"...Alphys... Didn't build the CORE," Flowey says after a long pause of silence, with only your breathing as background noise. If the silence wasn't ominous before, it sure is now- not to mention rather imposing in it's emptiness. 

Your right eyebrow rises up in confusion. "Really? She's the royal scientist though... If she didn't make it, then who did?"

Your floral companion opens his mouth to answer, but soon shuts it as indecision and confusion flits across his features. He opens his mouth a second time, but it snaps closed once more when he averts his gaze in a clear attempt to gather his thoughts.

...

"You don't know?" You ask in honest bewilderment, watching Flowey shake his head side to side as a result of your question.

"I have _no_ idea," he confirms.

Your jaw gapes open a bit, before you shake the stupor from yourself and look back towards the mountain in disbelief. "But you're sure Alphys didn't build it?" You ask again, to make sure the two of you are on the same page.

"Yeah, Alphys _definitely_ didn't build the CORE. That was made by her predecessor."

You nearly stagger when you push past the last trees in your way, stepping into a clear field that leads to a highway towards the city. As you catch yourself in your stumble, you turn to face Flowey with an indiscriminate look of frustration. " _Now_ you're mentioning a predecessor? Well, who was it then? The predecessor?"

Flowey makes a face at your attitude. "That's what I'm _saying._ I don't know what's the name of Alphys' predecessor- I don't know who they are. They were working there before I was born, I think. Other than the mention of a predecessor, no one has ever really divulged any information _about_ the last royal scientist. It's always been, 'Yeah, he was here.' and that's it."

If you keep frowning the way you're currently doing, you're likely to retain the expression on your face forever.

"That's really weird. Not to mention very lackluster and dismissive for someone like a royal scientist..." you comment, walking up along the side of the asphalt highway towards the city. You pass by a car and peek in through the window curiously, making sure not to get to close in case time decides to start up again and you end up as roadkill as a result. If it wasn't for the dust and smog behind the car frozen with the vehicle, you'd have thought it was parked. There's a familiar guy eating out of a tub of popcorn held between his legs as he drives, frozen mid chew with his hands on the steering wheel and his phone opened up into a call on the dashboard. In the backseat are a few moving boxes, which take up some room, but not the entirety of the backseat.

At first, you snort a little in amusement at the sight of that annoying sleazy classmate of yours in biology, frozen in an embarrassing chewing pose. It's the guy that called you cute and tried to get either you or Betsy as his partner. What a creep...

For a moment, your observant theories on the previous royal scientist go on pause as you observe the look of glee on the face of the large borzoi sitting in the passenger seat, frozen wind keeping the locks of fur suspended in the air. It isn't until you look at the phone propped up on the dash on speaker that your thoughts suddenly dissipate into the depths of you mind as you read the name on the screen. Any connections or answers to your questions drift away before you can catch them.

_"'Alan Barrett'...?!"_ You read the caller ID out loud in disbelief, eyes wide as you look from the phone to the jerk in the car and back. Flowey looks immensely confused as he glances from you to the guy and back.

"What? An ex-boyfriend you don't like?" 

You shoot Flowey a sharp glare, hissing slightly. _"No!_  This is a jerk who's in my Biology class- why's he talking to _Alan Barrett?!_  They are on the complete opposite scale in personality!" 

Flowey just raises a brow ridge at you dryly, making you immediately flustered by your behavior in response to the discovery of an unknown relationship between two boys that is clearly not any of your business. 

"I mean... I know Alan. He wouldn't hang out with a sleaze bag like _that,_ let alone be in a call with him at this time of night!" You complain, leaning a smidgen closer to read the call information. Looks like they've been talking for close to an hour now... Which is not what regular old classmates do. The two clearly know each other on a personal basis.

A flood of jealousy manages to backhand you at the worst possible moment, making your anger peak at an all-time high. He talks with this sleaze bag more than he talks to _you!_  

"Possessive much?" Flowey decides to quip, making your blood freeze. In nanoseconds, your temper is past boiling point with that little snide comment of his, which was likely uttered _exactly_ for that reason. 

You let out a sharp roar of anger and raise your arms above you, slamming your fists down against the top of the jerk's car with reckless abandon and no concern for your own well being. There's a feeling of your nerves, bones, and muscles complaining- maybe even  _shattering-_  at the force you apply to release some anger. The sound of metal like a cannon or gunshot echoes in the everlasting silence around you.

In a sudden moment, however, the everlasting silence stops, because the second your fists make contact with the jerk-a-zoid's car and impact atop the roof of the vehicle, the engine roars to life. You're half stunned as it whizzes past under your fists at a ludicrous speed, even for being on a highway. It might just seem so shocking because you're standing so close to the car when time starts up again, but still. 

As if stepping into another realm, the sounds of trees, crickets, and the whistling wind of the vehicle passing jumps out at you- even the car horns in the city despite your relative distance from the buildings. There's also another odd screeching noise that you can hear along side the squealing breaks of the car ahead screeching to a stop with startling clarity- until you realize who it is that's making the accompanying weird noise.

It's you.

What was at best a subtle burn at the bottoms of your fists, along side shock from the resuming flow of time, is now a searing burn of agony as bad as the pain level to what you assume was a hamstring avulsion when you first entered the Underground.

It's just as painful this time too. 

Flowey seems concerned by the damage at first, but then quickly retracts his leaves and stem above your ear again like hair decor, curling his petals so his face can't be seen. At first, the sting of his reluctance to help you digs deeper than the burn under your fists, despite it coming from an emotionally unstable flower, but it isn't until you hear a car door opening that you realize _why_ he's hidden himself. The sting in your heart fades into understanding.

"What the hell?!" The jerk who's car you'd hit says as you stagger back from the highway a few feet away and look at the skin at the bottoms of your fists, wincing at the seared red and flayed skin that reveals pink tissue beneath. The damage seems to extend past your fists and a little along the sides of your wrist and arm, as a result of resting too much of your weight on the car when hitting it.

_Shit, that hurts!_ You think, shivering violently along both arms. Did you damage any nerves?

"Where the fuck did you just...? Hey, are you okay?" The guy asks again, but rather than answering him, you just look up at the guy in confusion. If you needed any confirmation that time really _has_ decided to continue again, there it is: the jerk is out of his car, moving towards you carefully- as if trying not to scare you. Seems like he doesn't recognize you at the moment, and you wonder just how badly you look for that to be the case. 

Once he is close enough, he stops to take in your entire appearance. You must _really_ look like shit, considering the look of uncertainty on his face.

"You're not a mute or something, are you?" He inquires shamelessly, raising an ash blonde brow at your shivering silence.  

Predictable: he has as much tact as he did back in class earlier today. 

_"No!"_ You snap rather heatedly with a suddenness that makes the guy jump almost a foot in the air with surprise, "My _hands_ are damaged, you moron!"

Provoked, the guy soon irritably snaps back with, "What the hell were you even doing so close to the lanes on the highway in the first damn place?! No, never mind that- What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?!" 

You open you mouth to answer, but snap it shut after a second. What are you going to tell him? You entered the Underground and got chased away by a freaky monster? That's unbelievable, even to the standards of today with living along side them. Monsters aren't hostile unless provoked. If you say you got attacked by a huge creature that can only be identified as a class of _monster_ , people would either laugh 'cause they wouldn't believe it, or laugh because you probably deserved it. Basically, you have no retort. Besides, how can you explain the fact that time stopped?

Instead, you look away from the jerk and start walking past him, despite the agonizing pain of your hands as you struggle to keep them from moving. Every little twist or twitch is a stab against the few nerves left. Along your pinkies, however, you don't feel anything. It's a little disorienting, but you try not to think  about the feeling as you move. 

"Wait, I'm sorry! I'll call someone and-" The guy hurries to blurt out when he sees you leaving, jogging closer to try and stop you.

Your blood runs cold and you spin around to face him. "No, don't call anybody!"

He seems startled by your movement again, but other than stepping back a little, he gives you this bewildered stare. Obviously, he wants to know why, and narrows his eyes with a slight cock of his head.

"I'm not here and you didn't see me here, okay? Good bye," you snap, not giving him the benefit of hearing the story. Whether he knows Alan or not, you don't ca-

"HANA!" The guy suddenly calls when you turn to leave, prompting the large pale brown borzoi that was once sitting in the passenger's seat to bound in front of your path with a soft growl. You step back, despite the feeling of Flowey shifting his vines in case he needs to help you defend. "This looks bad, I know it does, but I can't just let you walk away in your state. I'm going to lead you to my car and take you to get help from a relative of mine if you really don't want to have been seen here. If you try to run, Hana will use force. Okay? I'm doing this for your own good. I'm sorry." 

Your heart hammers anxiously in your chest as you regard the canine in front of you. Something about it screams that it isn't a normal dog... And you soon get confirmation when you feel Flowey's petals brush against the wing of your ear.  

_"That dog is a monster,"_  Flowey whispers, much to your disdain.

Well _shit._ What's this jerk doing hanging around a monster?!

After a second of considering a few alternatives to the options presented, you relent and nod in agreement, feeling a hand wrap around your bicep. The ash blonde haired guy is close to Alan's height, looming over you as he leads you to his car with his dog monster companion at your other side.

He helps to buckle your seat where Hana was once sitting, the borzoi-like monster resting her snout and muzzle against the back of your seat and over your shoulder as her horrible friend moves to the driver's seat. When the car starts up, Flowey shifts a smidgen.

You think you hear something like buzzing a good ways behind the car, but quickly chalk it up to just be the car engine, which roars as soon as he hits the gas pedal. Wound up nerves coil in your belly, but you do your best not to look nervous or scared. You remember how well that turned out for you the _last_ time you were forced into a car against your will.

_"Don't worry. If this goes wrong, we can always get rid of them,"_ Flowey attempts to ease your worries, failing spectacularly to the point that you have to bite down on your tongue despite the pain on the sides of your hands to stop a laugh of both disbelief, horror, and amusement.

You almost forgot Flowey was here, in all his murdery glory.

Hopefully, though, nothing comes to _that._

You only grunt lightly in response, since you don't want the jerk thinking you're talking to yourself... Or worse, realizing you have a trump card hidden in plain sight, looking like a headband of all things. 

"...By the way, do I know you?" The guy asks in confusion, making you roll your eyes with little concern on whether he saw it or not. Oh, so he doesn't remember you at _all_ huh? Jerk... "You can call me-"

"I don't want to call you anything, I want to get out of this fucking car," you snide with a huff, watching as the guy pauses to listen. Maybe if you're really hostile, he'll give up the hospitality and let you walk on your own?"

...

"...So anyways, I'm Clayton!"

You let out a groan of aggravation, shrugging the dog monster's muzzle off of your shoulder coldly. The dog monster seems unaffected, and rests it's head back over you once you've settled again, much to your irritation.

_This is the longest and worst night I've ever experienced,_  you decide, cursing a storm up in your mind when you're unable to cross your arms as a result of your injury. Slamming your hands on the top of the frozen car? Probably not the greatest idea you've ever had.

Now you just need to find some water to heal your wounds.

* * *

 

"Er, I'm now fairly certain she's managed to exit the mountain, Pink Human! Do you think we should call Sans and Undyne to meet us here? Or should we go on ahead and-"

"We'll go ahead. Just let them know," Druella says as she hurries down a few corridors with Cynthia, the dog bounding past her human as if thinking she wanted to race.

Druella immediately rushes into a large room full of flowers past Papyrus, not bothering to be careful as she tramples a few and- 

**Ding! Ding! Ding!**

Druella pulls out her phone and presses it to her ear as she reaches the other doorway, Papyrus jogging just behind her as he searches to call his brother. The sound of static (or some kind of interference) greets her ear, but in half a second, it's replaced by Undyne's voice.

_"Hey, Dru! We're at the end and we're gonna head on out to find (Name), I don't sense her soul down here anymore!"_

"We're rounding the corner right now to the exit, Papyrus feels her presence outside too," Druella states, hanging up on the fish monster just as she turns a corner and finds Sans quickly squirreling through an opening between the boulders and rocks blocking entry into the Underground. As soon as he's on the other side, he doesn't bother to wait for anyone, scrambling down the mountain path with a surprising lithe speed that causes Papyrus' jaw to drop a bit in shock.

"He's moving... _Fast...?"_  Papyrus can barely bring himself to say, staring after the monster with a flabbergasted gape.

"Come on, there's no time to waste, Sans found her already and she's in trouble! Apparently something was trying to kill them earlier!" Undyne says, pulling Druella to the opening so she can squirm through. Druella braces herself against the rocks on the other side and wriggles her hips to get past, landing on her feet easily. Next out is her whimpering dog as she is man handled by Undyne, Druella helping the dog along and setting the bloodhound on her feet once she's able.

Taking a page from Sans' book, considering the information just passed, Druella races down the mountain path with Cynthia, just a couple meters behind Sans. For a skeleton, he's awfully expressive as he makes a turn along the zig-zagging path, brow bone's knit together in concentration and a small amount of sweat collecting just at his left temple. His eye lights remain trained ahead as he runs, despite that he looks to be exerting himself more than Druella is. 

_What did Undyne mean by something trying to kill Sans and (Name)?_

Before she even realizes it, Undyne and Papyrus have caught up to her and match up to her speed. Druella doesn't hesitate to get answers.

"What do you mean something was trying to kill Sans and (Name)?" She asks immediately. Much to her relief, she gets an answer relatively quick- a benefit of Undyne's to-the-point personality.

"The nerd said he found a door in Waterfall that wasn't supposed to be there and met up with this weird monster (Name)'s been talking about the last few days. Apparently, he found her in a monochrome version of the Underground and got chased around with (Name) by this freaky goop monster or some shit like that. He says it's after mostly (Name) though, not him," Undyne huffs as they jog, speeding up to catch up to the surprisingly quick footed Sans.  

"If I had known he could move this quickly...! I want to find Miss Human and make sure she's safe, but I am so proud Miss Human has such a good influence on him even though she is not currently among our ranks!" Papyrus says with barely contained praise, just before he refocuses and starts looking past the mountains edge with a serious leer. "I believe our human companion is heading back towards the city! She's just past these trees ahead!"

Papyrus jogs ahead to his brother's side easily, long legs assisting him in his stride forward.. Druella watches as Papyrus relays the information to Sans, pointing towards the trees and making wild movements with his hands and arms energetically. How he has so much energy at this hour of the night, Druella has no clue.

With out even a pause for air, Sans continues barreling ahead through the trees, stumbling a bit from his loose fitted socks and promptly ripping them off to move through the trees and bushes faster in the end. Papyrus easily keeps up, catching Sans' carelessly discarded socks and immediately opening his mouth to scold his brother. He seems to reconsider after a moment, however, and just settles with clicking his teeth in disappointment.

Druella is soon swinging around trees with Undyne and Cynthia, the dog easily bypassing all four and taking the lead towards the end of the wooded area. 

"You'd think this punk could just stay still for _one damn second!"_  Undyne huffs in complaint, shaking a leaf out of her hair when she gets her ponytail caught in a low branch. It's an attempt to keep spirits raised, but Druella is lost in her thoughts by the time Undyne says something else. 

_It's her. It has to be her. She's the one I'm looking for. There are inconsistencies, but it's definitely her._

Sans wobbles beside Papyrus' sure footed form when they leap over a drop at the end of a massive fallen tree trunk hanging over a small river, clearly not well versed with acrobatics or exercise. Unlike Sans, Druella doesn't fumble when she jumps over the end of the thick fallen tree trunk with Undyne, the two easily landing on their feet almost effortlessly. 

Her drive to talk to you makes her belly fill with butterflies. She's waited a long time for this- and she's so _so_ close now. Closer than she's ever been in her entire life.

By the time all five break through the last trees, Druella is greeted with the sight of you being helped into a strange car with a guy Druella's never seen before, a moody look of irritation on your face as you glare at the guy attempting to buckle you in. Druella immediately zeros in on the dog that hops easily into the backseat through the back window like it's nothing. Looks like a dog Cynthia would run from, but not one that would cause Druella herself much trouble.

"There!" Druella blurts out to the others, pointing towards the car just as the tall human male rounds to the driver's seat and starts buckling himself in. 

All of them try to catch up, but the car soon speeds away the second they're getting their third step closer towards them. 

Coughing at the scent of generic gasoline fumes left behind from the car, Druella growls a little to herself. Of _course,_ fate would dangle the prize in her face and rip it away before her fingers could even so much as _brush_ against them. It's almost tragic how often that has happened to Druella, and she runs a hand over her face in exasperation. 

"Does anyone know that dude?! 'Cause if that punk just got in a car with a stranger then-!" Undyne begins heatedly, until Sans quickly adds, "That guys a classmate. Not any better though- he's a player that tried to get in (Name)'s and Betsy's pants earlier today." 

Undyne sputters in disbelief. "That _stupid little-!"_ She starts to howl, before ducking and pointing to her back, her gold eye meeting Sans' eye lights. "SANS. LET'S GO."

Sans doesn't hesitate to hop piggy back on Undyne's back, and with little warning, they catapult past Druella, Cynthia, and Papyrus at a commendable speed that kicks up dirt into the faces of those remaining. 

"We said we would catch Miss Human first!" Papyrus realizes in disbelief, watching the other two in the distance and facing Druella, who struggles to catch her breath after the burst of adrenaline used to reach the highway. By the expressions of conflict passing the tall skeleton's face, he likely could carry Druella and speed off like Undyne, but Cynthia? She'd end up eating their dust. 

After a moment of consideration, Papyrus takes one of Druella's arms and turns with little effort, leaning over and pulling Druella up for a piggy back ride much to her shock. Instead of speeding off and abandoning her dog like Druella assumes he'll do since she's been picked up, Papyrus clicks his teeth again and takes to an easy jog, one Cynthia keeps up with with a sloppy dog grin. 

"...Thanks," Druella manages after a second, allowing the surprise to wear off. How Papyrus is able to carry her considering their similar heights is impressive enough, but to jog while at it?

"Nyeh, I would not forgive myself if your canine companion was abandoned. I trust Sans and Undyne to get to Miss Human and help her in the case that danger strikes," Papyrus explains with a prideful grin as he praises his companions ahead. "Your canine may have had a lapse in judgement earlier, biting my femur like she did, but I can assure you that I am a _very_ forgiving skeleton!"

Druella cracks a bit of a smile, but when she sees Papyrus tilt his skull back to see if she's made a reaction, she twists her neck in the other direction. Despite the fact that she's hiding the expression from him, she can't stop her smile from widening a little. 

Papyrus, of course, huffs a little in mild frustration. "Pink Human, stop moving so I may see your pleasant smile."

Druella's smile is getting wider, breaking through her usual mask. Is it because of her friend here? Or the idea of seeing (Name), finding the person she's been looking for after all this time? 

Papyrus looks back and manages to catch her gaze, his right eye flaring to a startling orange blaze. Much to Druella's surprise, a weight of some sorts stops her from turning her head away, instead gently turning it in a position where Papyrus can see it. At the sight of her surprised smile, Papyrus seems to grin twice as much as before.

"There. Much better," he responds, before turning to face the highway ahead and returning Druella's control of her neck.

... _Both_ , Druella decides in the end, looking back towards the towering buildings and lights in the city ahead. _I'm coming (Name), just wait for me to get there. I'll tell you everything you need to know._

* * *

You twist away from Clayton's grip and keep a good distance from Hana as the dog moves ahead to knock on the door to a large loft in one of the nicer areas of the city... Or scratch? It almost sounds like a mix of the two sounds, but it gets the message across easily. 

"Don't worry, I've only got my cousin here bringing some of his stuff since were gonna be splitting the rent for the place. I only managed to convince him a couple hours earlier to move in, since he's so emotionally attached to his apartment..." Clayton says with an eye roll. "He can help at least bandaging up your hands and can take you to your place. Believe me, he'd be _more_ than willing, the sap."

You raise an eyebrow in confusion, saying nothing else as you try to gauge whether you should run for it now before it's too late. You have Flowey as backup, but just how much help would he be if it was three against two? Two adult men and a dog monster against an average at best adult woman and a murderous flower...?

...What are you saying? Poor _them,_  Flowey would _not_ hold back like a monster would.

"...Sap?" You ask after a moment, curious as to whether this other man is less built than Clayton.

Clayton nods. "Oh yeah, he's like maple fucking syrup. Everyone likes him- the dude is a living saint. Personally, I think he needs to be a little wilder, all of that reading he does is so time consuming and _boring._  Whenever I invite him to a bar, he just 'nopes' to his room, tells me he has work, or goes volunteering as a bleeding heart or something..."

_Maple syrup, everyone likes him, and he's a saint. There's not many people out there like that, the only other person I can think of is..._

_..._

Oh gods no.

You idiot, you should have made the connection the minute he mentioned a cousin. Idiot, idiot, _idiot-_  Flowey was right about you!

Your eyes widen in realization and you turn to scramble away from the door before anyone can go opening it. Before you even get a step or two away, Clayton grabs hold of your waist and tugs you back to his side. Hana growls a little, but it's a lot more lenient of a warning. She obviously understands a lot more than it seems, considering she looks like a regular old borzoi. 

Much to your horror, you hear the door open and freeze. You're facing away from the entrance, and staring at the doors to the other lofts. You pray to every known deity that it's not who you think it is, unable to turn around due to Clayton's hold on your waist. Your hands sting painfully but you don't try to break away again.

_Please don't be Alan, Please- ANYONE but Alan! Not like this, I look like crap, I probably smell, there's still silk stuck in my hair and I need a bath-!_

At this rate, you're willing to walk bare ass naked backwards into hell just to avoid Alan seeing you in your sorry state.

Would the world give you that leisure though? Well... 

Of _course_ not!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NNNGGG I'M LAAATTEEEE! 
> 
> A VANILLA LATTE!
> 
> ...
> 
> I went back and changed it all. It was done, but I just wasn't satisfied in the end. I wanted to write something better than what I was gonna give you before, so I kept it a bit longer TmT
> 
> But NOW, I can lead in to a fun segment! Let's watch Miss Human crumble into a fetal position of shame in the next chapter! :D
> 
> (but really, I'm sorreh T.T)
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)


	40. Witch Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alan invites you into his home with Clayton to clean your wounds, just before everything goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna get graphic, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED~

 Chapter 40: Witch Hunt 

 

"It's way too early to still be bringing boxes from your parent's, Clayton, I have class early tomorrow and..." A groggy voice half yawns as they open the door for you and your kidnapper. When their words trail off, your stomach begins to churn violently. Is it him? The yawn and cotton mouth kind of make it sound different, but- "Who...? Clayton, did you seriously just drag _another_  poor girl here for the night? _You_ have school early tomorrow!"

Your eyes widen considerably. If you needed any proof, those words and the clear voice that utters them is enough to make you curse in your head.

_Oh god, it's him. And did he just say "another"?!_  

At that, you make a small noise of irritation and wriggle away from the sleaze bag Clayton, taking a step towards Hana and keeping your back to the door.

"Not like that this time, I _swear._ Scouts honor or some shit like that. She was on the highway in the middle of nowhere just outside the city and... Well, honestly, I don't really know how it happened! One moment she wasn't there, the next, she was _literally right next to my car._ I was kind of speeding, but I _definitely_ didn't see her when I was driving along. There aren't any obstructing trees or bushes close to the road for her to hide, she just Casper'd herself there or something," Clayton explains, his tone changing as if trying to imply an underlying meaning. You frown at this, but say nothing on the matter. "Her hands are all messed up, but I don't know how that happened either..."

You tuck your arms against your chest at Clayton's words, protecting your hands from Alan's gaze. You're tired- all you want to do is go home. This is the _worst_ way of coming back from that timeless zone! It was all supposed to be over the moment time started back up again, but _no!_  Some idiot decided to kidnap you out of the kindness of their bottomless, sleazy heart!

_"Just give me a signal if I need to kill one of them, ok?"_ Flowey whispers by your ear.

You nearly face palm at Flowey's whisper. NOT helping. Amusing, sure, but not helping.

"Oh! Well, who is she?" Alan asks much to your horror, only for his cousin to pause, huff as if exasperated (did whatever he was trying to say go over Alan's head?), and answer with, "No idea. Hasn't given me a name- she's been cussing every now and then at me, but she's mostly quiet. Kind of gave me the stink eye the entire ride over here. At first, she didn't want me to call anyone and had the bright idea to walk all the way back to the city on her own."

You could almost _hear_ Alan's disappointment when he sighs in response. 

"I'll handle this... You're too imposing and senseless when it comes to other people," Alan states, before you feel two hands rest on your shoulders from behind you. Electricity runs straight up your spine, causing you to tense up a little more than necessary despite the way Alan's fingers gently massage your shoulders. "I'm sorry about my cousin, he's... _Different,_ for lack of a better word. Are you doing alright? Is there a family member I can call to let them know you're safe?"

_"Ugh, he_ is _a sap,"_ The flower monster's voice reaches your ear, making you frown a little and reach up to flick the flower's petals a little in retaliation. Your hand complains horrendously at the movement, but before you can bring it back to your chest, Alan catches it in his grip. You jump in surprise, but allow him to turn and observe the damage. His movements are so gentle and caring that you almost forget someone else is around. _Three_ someone elses', to be exact. 

"It's burnt. How did you manage to get yourself burnt out there...?" Alan murmurs to himself more than to you, before finally moving your arm and shoulder in his direction so you could face him. As soon as you meet his gorgeous brown eyes, his expression immediately shifts. The monumental amount of disbelief etched across his handsome freckled face almost handicaps you as you stare back wordlessly, feeling your heart speed up almost out of habit. Your exhaustion is catching up to you, but you try not to sway under Alan's surprised gaze.

Everything is quiet for a second, save for Clayton shifting around behind Alan with Hana. You don't know what to say to your crush at all, no excuse to give and no way out of this embarrassing situation you hardly know how to explain to _yourself._  

"... _(Name)?!"_  He finally says, immediately catching Clayton's attention from where he's petting Hana's elongated head.

"Wait. OH! _That's_ why you look so familiar! You're that cock blocking chick that-!" Clayton starts, just before you see Alan turn with a warning glare. "...Never mind then. _You're welcome for the ride~"_

You must be really tired, because the profanity just slides past your lips like melted chocolate despite Alan's presence, and dear  _god_ is it satisfying.

"Whatever needle dick- if you wanna get laid so bad, go crawl up a chicken's asshole," you snap so suddenly that even Alan releases you in surprise.

_"(Name)!"_ This time when Alan says it, it's more admonishing. 

"...Actually, that was a pretty good comeback," Clayton comments appreciatively, much to your annoyance. Somehow, him not getting offended takes the power away from what you thought was a pretty good insult. Rather than relax, Alan gives his cousin a similar chiding look to silence him.

You nearly lose your balance and catch yourself on the wall to your left to keep from falling over, wincing at the irritating pain of your burnt skin. After a moment, Alan seems to forgive your sharp tongue and walks over to you, wrapping an arm around your waist. Somehow, he manages to place his fingers on very ticklish bundles of nerves along your sides, causing you to squeak and move his hand higher on your waist where it's a little more comfortable. Unfortunately, it still manages to tickle, so you try to move his hand again. In the end, Alan just sighs and shifts it to rest on your hip instead with a small chuckle. 

Now you just feel embarrassed that he has a hand. On your body.

_"Any redder and you'll pass out, idiot,"_  Flowey cackles by your ear much to your horror. You're blushing? Shit, that must be why your face feels unbearably hot.

"Come on, lets fix your hands up and talk about what happened," Alan says, leading you into the loft before you can object. If anything though, you're _way_ too tired to complain anyways.

The sound of the door closing behind you with the click of a lock makes your nerves coil up anxiously, despite being in the presence of Alan. For a moment, you wonder what he would think if you told him you left Sans behind to quite possibly die at the hands of a hostile creature. Likely, he'd probably jerk back from you like you've burnt him. 

_I wonder where that thing went anyways... Did it follow me all the way out of the timeless zone and that sort of middle-ground in the timeless zone?_  You wonder, biting your lip gently as Alan tightens his grip on your hip. You feel your face get hotter as a result, but do your best to play it off as maybe it simply being the result of the usual hot weather here around the city. 

"Let's run the wounds under some water and then we can apply some-" Alan starts as he directs you towards their bathroom, being careful not to move his hand in any other direction as it rests on your hip. The second you hear the word "water", however, you snap out of your momentarily listless state of exhaustion. In an instant, your senses roll out into overdrive- every little movement and word being analyzed in your head more than once.

Admittedly, you trust Alan Barrett, a whole lot. Enough that you'd likely spill a few secrets to him here and there if you truly felt like doing so- allowing your crush to come up with his own conclusions as a result of hearing them.

Which is why _you yourself_  are confused when you suddenly tear away from your likable companion, exhaling sharply in alarm. As Alan and Clayton watch you back away towards the balcony, each with distinctive expressions that seem to express completely different emotions from one another, thoughts rush through you in seconds.

_What if Alan thinks I'm some kind of freak because I have weird self-healing abilities when I'm underwater? What if he tells someone else? Or if not that, then what if he only ends up liking me because I have magic?_ It's low to think that he may think that way, but you're not about to just write him off or anything. Even if you _do_ have a crush on him.

"...What's wrong?" Alan manages to ask after a moment, clearly stunned by your abrupt shift in behavior. There's nothing obvious around the two of you that could have surprised you or caught you off guard, so Alan's confusion is warranted.

"...It's fine. When I get home, I'll fix my hand myself," you answer, much to Alan's mild bewilderment. He seems to have noticed something _off_ about your statement, because he takes a hesitant step towards you, moving slowly as if trying to approach a skittish woodland critter. Your heart jumps up into your throat. 

"(Name), whatever it is that's happened to make you so nervous... I'm here for you, okay? I'm not going to hurt you. If we wait to do something about your hands with the way they are right now, they might get infected. Just... Come with me to the bathroom and we'll get it fixed fast so that you don't feel anything, alright?"

Alan reaches for you, holding out his hand for you to place yours in his. Your heart is pumping even faster than when he had his arm around you. It's likely that the headache blossoming at your temples is due to stress and lack of sleep, but you resist the urge to hold your head in agony.

You don't _want_ to stay here. Not even with Alan, especially if he finds out that you're a magic using _freak._

_I have to get out of here,_ you realize, turning back a little to glance at the balcony behind the crystal sliding door behind you in your peripheral vision. It's a long drop if you jump over the balcony edge, but Flowey's vines could swing you away from the ground like _Spider Man_ if he wanted to. In fact, you could get creative and even have the flower create a sort of spring made of vines to ease your landing without launching you too far into the air...

Your peek seems to immediately alarm Alan as his eyes follow your line of sight, causing his complexion to turn slightly pale when he picks up on your little idea. He takes another step forward towards you, this time with less hesitancy. Noticing his quick stride out of the corner of your eye, your head snaps back in his direction. Alan stops again, but doesn't step back.

"We're on the sixth floor, (Name). Whatever you're thinking about doing, _don't,"_  Alan stresses firmly, eyes narrowed to make sure you're not about to lunge for the balcony door. "Please trust me. We can talk and then I'll take you home myself."

He moves his hand a little closer towards you, causing butterflies to swarm within your belly. Do you dare?

...

You hesitantly reach out to place your hand in his-

And the violent sensation of your arms suddenly clamping down against your sides on their own volition catches you entirely off guard, your muscles and the burns at the base of your fists crying out in agony as they irritate with the contact of your leggings. Stunned by the inexplicable- and more or less _invisible-_  force, you wriggle in an attempt to move your arms up. Midst your struggles, you back up and hit the crystal door behind you clumsily, damn near losing your balance.

_The hell?_  You think, straightening up and pausing to look down at your arms, glued to either side of you with no sign of moving away.  

_"What the hell?!"_  Flowey hisses your exact sentiments by your ear, just before you feel his petals shift slightly. As you look down to try and determine what's caused such an uncanny effect, Flowey suddenly taps your your ear quickly and discreetly when the other three in the room can't see him. _"Shit. It's_ that one's _doing."_

You're not really sure what Flowey means when he says it's _"someone's doing"_ , until you look up past Alan's surprised form. As if knowing what's going on, Alan swings around in confusion to look at his cousin, who's been quietly standing behind him with the dog monster, Hana.

The peculiar sight of Clayton, the asshole from biology and someone you'd written off as irrevocably insignificant from day one of meeting him, with his palm raised up in your direction has the butterflies that were once in your belly dying off one by one. Hana stands firmly beside Clayton on all fours, teeth bared dangerously at you much to your inherent disbelief.

Flowey's words find in your head once more. " _His_ doing", he'd said. _Clayton's_ doing.

Fucking _magic._

"I was hoping I'd be able to do this quietly after you dozed off around here or something... Shame it can't be like that. Hate to break it to you, but you're not leaving this loft," Clayton suddenly speaks up with a startling degree of professionalism not present when he first picked you up from the woods. His eyes flash as he adds, "Well, at least not _alive,_ that is."

Your stomach flip-flops in shock. _What?_  

_"Holy crap, what the hell is going on?"_ Flowey murmurs, obviously peeking from between his petals to get a better look. _"Any idea why that one would want you dead?"_

You make a soft noise of disagreement, prompting the flower to click his tongue with slight vexation. 

"What are you _doing,_ Clay?!" Alan hisses sharply, his tone laced with disbelief and alarm. Your eyes shift to look at the freckled male, widening a fraction at his statement. He's not surprised at all- he's seen Clayton do this before. Honestly though, how in the holy _hell_ does Clayton have _magic_ abilities?! Is he like you? If you're truly some kind of mage like Undyne has speculated along with Papyrus and Alphys?

"I'm sorry, 'cuz. Hana already confirmed it earlier- your friend is one hundred percent a _witch,"_ Clayton says, his tone taking on something a little more stricter as he speaks to Alan. Confusion thrashes about in your head, only proving to worsen your headache. "She smells way too strongly of witchcraft, according to Hana, to be a regular normie. You know as well as I do about what we need to do."

You swallow thickly, looking from one to the other quietly as they speak. What's _that_ supposed to mean? Witchcraft? Is that somehow different from magic? What they " _need to do"..._?

"...No, that can't be true. I've known her since middle school and she's _never_ given off any signs of being a witch. I would have noticed," Alan objects, leaving you to look from one male to the other and back with increasing concern for your fate.

You're having the slight suspicion that Clayton wants to get rid of you-  _permanently-_ and it's making you nervous.

_I JUST got out of the Underground's hell, this isn't fair,_ you think despondently, before the little voice in the back of your mind responds with, _Just like it wasn't fair when you left Sans behind in Waterfall for that creature, right?_

Your stomach knots up. For all the thoughts you've been having, feeling like you deserve every last bit of punishment for your transgression, your mind screams that you absolutely _do not want this._

A test to break free from the invisible force pinning your arms to your sides proves futile once more, and an attempt to walk to the side where the handle to the balcony door is? Just as fruitless as the last try.

"Al, you're being biased because she's your _'friend'._  I'm telling you, _she's a fucking witch._ You remember? They're the kinds of people that twist themselves silly of morality for just a little bit of greedy wealth and status. They took _my_ dad and _your_ mom- did you forget that too? _That's_ the kind of filth your _'friend'_  right here is. And we, as mages, are the only people that can _clean_ this place of cold-blooded killers like them. Are you _really_ about to excuse this diabolist bitch of every death she's likely caused? Just cause you're blinded by _'friendship'_? You realize she's probably hexed you, right? They tend to do that with the ones they _fancy,"_  Clayton practically spits the last part out, looking you dead in the eye with a nasty glare as you lean against the crystal door behind you.

_What the hell is going on?! Fuck, fuck, fuck...!_  You mentally panic the more you listen. You know you have _some_ degree of magic- healing in water and being able to connect with Gaster on a level no one else seems to be able to achieve- though you're not sure if you're a mage or a witch like Clayton says you are. It's hard to argue when that monster dog of his is apparently telling him that you're a witch- no questions about it. Any attempt to convince Clayton otherwise would likely fall deaf on his ears.

"I've told you about (Name) a million times! She doesn't behave like a witch at all- she's reserved and cautious around other magic users. Witches have recently been known to gravitate  _towards_ monsters because of their magic- and not to mention that they're extroverts that thrive on being _chaotic._ (Name) is the complete opposite!" Alan continues to argue against Clayton's point, visibly irritating his determined blonde cousin. Personally, you hope Alan can somehow talk Clayton out of this, but the look on the other guy's face only serves to make your desire to escape wishful thinking." 

"Then she's a good _actress!_  She popped out of _nowhere_ in the MIDDLE of _nowhere!_  Does that not freaking scream 'magic' to you?! Alan, don't argue with me! We made a promise years ago- are you going to back out of it? _Now?_  For _her?_  Or are you sticking with me?" Clayton snaps much to your dismay.

_Checkmate,_ you think, feeling your face fall. He's just successfully pinned Alan with a pretty heavy choice. _Him_  or _you._  And you don't have to think too hard to know who Alan will pick.

You can feel your heart speeding up once more- this time not out of adoration, but sheer concentrated _fear-_ as Alan Barrett turns to look back at you, his brown eyes melancholy with conflict and indecision. Considering you can already tell how this encounter will end, you don't even attempt to convince Alan otherwise.

_"I'll get us out of here, don't give up so soon, you moron,"_  Flowey whispers by your ear, causing your expression to twitch just a fraction. You're not sure you believe your floral companion- this encounter is three against one. You're no  fighter by any stretch of the imagination, so you'd be completely unable to back Flowey up in a tussle.

Despite your hopelessness, you feel somewhat eased, though not by much, when you realize a vine is sliding down your back and towards the ground. What's this manic flower planning?

"I'll make it quick for her, Al. She won't feel a thing- but that's as much mercy as you'll see from me on this matter," Clayton adds, with a touch of sympathy at the tip of his tongue. It's obvious that this sympathy is for Alan though- not you.

Alan, despite his clear resignation and despondence on the matter, seems to notice the vine creeping towards the crystal door behind you. His head turns to look at it move, and his brown eyes flick back up to meet yours. For a moment, you wonder if he's going to let it go.

_"...Oh shit,"_ Flowey whispers with a tone of hollow realization, sending your stomach plummeting. Whatever he's about to say, you know it's basically the signing of your death warrant. _"The one you were giving googly eyes to can move plants and he's fighting back."_

Fuck.

Clayton reaches into his pocket and yanks out a long dagger while Alan narrows his eyes on the vine behind you, arms crossed and despondence gone. Looks like he think's it's _your_ magic- and it's probably all the proof he needs.

Double fuck. 

Alan's cousin tosses the dagger up and catches it effortlessly by the end of the blade, causing your heart to skip a beat. You and Flowey are _completely_ outmatched.

_Help,_ you think in the back of your mind as Clayton pulls his arm back, the knife along with it. Alan doesn't try to stop him. You exhale a chilly cold breath across your bottom lip and tremble as his eyes focus dead on you. Your eyes begin to water.

_**Help**._

Clayton's arm swings forward.

_**HELP.** _

Your eyes snap shut almost instinctively, something you've done the past few hours every time you think it's all going to end. How you're still standing after _so_ many close calls is a huge mystery in your opinion. A mystery likely ending right about-

**RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGG!**

The sound of the fire alarm in the building going off has Hana yelping before a howl flies from her muzzle, startling both Alan and Clayton with the two earsplitting sounds. You feel your arms and legs unpin from their positions, just as Flowey's vines snap out and shove the two boys towards the corners of the room out of your way.

"Now's our chance!" Flowey barks as you make a hasty spin to open the crystal door, grabbing the rails at the end of the balcony and jumping right over. You think you hear Alan call out to you, but you ignore it.

Six floors looks worse than it sounds, you're surprised to discover as you stare at the back of the building, looking straight down at the massive public pool from the lights shining brightly beneath the water. The drop is quicker than expected, and hurts a bit more than you thought it would upon impact- just before the fatigue and pain fades away with the liquid around you. 

You swim back up to the surface towards the edge of the pool and drag your self out onto your feet, soaked head to toe for the third (or is it fourth?) time that night. You and Flowey both glance back quickly as you run to the gate at the far end of the building's pool yard to see Alan looking over the edge of the balcony with Clayton. The fire alarm is still blaring, and as Flowey effortlessly lifts you over the edge, more and more people are leaving the building with expressions of clear confusion.

That was a stroke of mad luck right there- something you're beginning to think is total bullshit despite it happening so many times already.

Clayton glares down at you, tapping Alan's shoulder before the vanishing back into the building. Alan momentarily hesitates, but follows his cousin eventually.

"Chances are that they're gonna get that dumb dog monster of theirs to track us. We need to go somewhere where they won't sniff us out," Flowey explains as he sets you on your feet on the other side of the fence, along the steep bushes and planted cacti that threaten to poke holes in you. You can see a precipice of a good seven meters down towards the water just to your left as you scurry in the direction of the streets south from the building and towards the right.

"They wouldn't be able to track us _there!_ Whoa, look at all that water!" Flowey gapes in disbelief, much to your irritation as stones and twigs bite into your bare feet. Hopefully there aren't any fallen cactus spines in your path to step on, that would be terrible since you're on the run. After a second of replaying his words, Flowey's statement rings something of interest in you, prompting you to pause and glance over the edge.

You quickly scan the cliff and water below for the drop length, only to feel yourself pale at the distance.

"Even if I wanted to jump and could survive that drop, this area has too many rocks below. We could accidentally hit those and go splat,  _or_ the water will wreck us against them if we miss. Those waves look powerful enough to throw King Asgore around... Not to mention, I don't know what the limits to my healing are. What if I'm too damaged for the water to do anything about it in the end? I'll just be... _Dead."_ You respond with reasonable skepticism, looking away to continue expanding the space between you and the building Alan and Clayton would soon be racing out of with Hana at their side.

Much to your dismay, you feel blisters begin to form under your feet- despite those that were already present fading away with the initial pool dunk. They don't hurt as much as the thought of your crush turning against you though, no matter how reluctant he seemed to appear. Unfortunately, thinking about all the revelations and odds stacked against you will only screw you up in the long run if you don't focus on getting away first and foremost. 

You break into a jog down a path leading towards the piers and away from the higher end buildings Clayton brought you to. Half of you wonders what would have happened if Clayton hadn't had Alan over that night to help him bring stuff into their new place. If you had to guess, it seemed like he suspected something was wrong with you when he encountered you on the highway, had Hana sniff you out (which was why she kept her muzzle over your shoulder the entire ride to his place), and made the verdict by the time the three of you had joined up with Alan at their new loft. It's the only way you could make sense as to why Clayton hadn't attempted to kill you the moment you encountered one another on the road.

_This sucks,_ you think, before banishing your thoughts on _why_ and looking towards the piers hopefully. At least out here, with the cars and few people walking around, the two boys can't do anything to you without compromising that they themselves have magic.

_Shit._ Magic. _Is that why Alan wasn't scared of monsters from the get go? Is that why Clayton wasn't opposed to hitting on Betsy? How much of this has just gone over my head?_  You wonder even more, feeling the burn of your legs beginning to take a toll on you the more you run and-

_"FINALLY!"_  

Your heart jerks violently as you spin towards the right, spotting a pair of familiar figures as they race across the street of fast moving cars with little regard for social norms, causing a flurry of car horns to echo after them as a result. Despite neither of them being the two boys trying to murder you because of alleged witchcraft, you yelp and run diagonally so you're just along the edge of the cliff, hoping they get the picture and don't try to approach you when you're so close to the edge.

They stop just on the other side of the gate.

"H-hold the damn phone, (Name). Don't do anything stupid, we just wanna talk about where you've been. Sans ran everything he knows by me, I promise that whatever this thing is that's trying to kill you isn't going to touch you with me around. Your bestie will take care of it," Undyne quickly speaks up with unusually coaxing voice, even refraining from using her usual nicknames like "nerd" or "punk". As she does this, Sans swings off from her back, skeletal phalanges gripping the gate as he looks straight at you.

"I'm not angry with you, okay? You're sleep deprived and have been up probably longer than I have while we were stuck in that place Underground. We can take you home to get some rest and we'll deal with the rest after we've all gotten the chance to breathe. I promise I'm not planning any dastardly schemes like I've done in the past-" Sans starts, until you cut him off with a scoff of laughter. Sans' eye lights straight slightly in anxiety when you put a foot back towards the edge, just a little closer than before.

You yourself hope the ground is sturdy enough to hold your weight as you near it. At this point, you're not sure whether you'll have a choice to jump or not- Sans and Undyne won't let you run away anymore, even thought they obviously mean well. As a result, sooner or later the traitor and the jerk will get here and kill you off themselves.

"You think I'm running away from _that_ thing still? I haven't seen it at all since I got out. Sans... Just go _home._  Don't waste your time, I left you behind knowing full well what could happen. I'm done trying to get along with other people! Every time I get closer to somebody, they seem to try their _damned_ hardest to show me their ugly side. In fact, it was kind of _refreshing_ that you were such a bastard in the beginning! Warranted or not, at least you had the decency not to hide behind a fake smile," you complain heatedly, feeling Flowey shift by your ear. Your hand automatically moves to brush your fingers against his curled petals.

Ironically, Flowey is somewhat in the same vein when it comes to not hiding behind a mask, but at least the mentally unstable flower still bothered to open up to you as to _why_ he's such a maniac. Sans, for few his weak attempts to reconcile with you, has admitted to not knowing _why_ he was so hostile. Between both the monster and flower, of course you can't simply forget that the two tried to kill you, one more than the other. In the end, however, the one that's actively supporting you and putting all his faith in _your_ competence to direct half of his magic? That's Flowey. And you can't argue against a flower trusting you to keep his existence a secret, especially when he's making an effort to protect you like he's been doing.

You wanted to give the pitiful flower a home, since no one else would accept him and you refuse to accept anyone else. With the way things are going now, you're honestly not sure whether you'll be able to keep to that promise...

"(Name), I'm _sorry_ about that. I still don't know why I was being like that and I don't know if I ever will, but I swear I'm not lying when I say I want to fix things. It's only been one day, please just give me more time to prove it before you-!"

Sans cuts himself off at the sound of barking, making your body tense up when he turns to see who it is. As expected, and on _your_ side of the fence, no less, is Alan and Clayton, lead by Hana. You step back from them nervously, nearly misplacing your foot too far off the cliff. If it was that same cliff Druella likely visited for some cliff diving, you probably wouldn't have been as nervous as you are right now.

At the sight of the three, Sans grabs Undyne's wrist and teleports to the other side of the fence with a blip of magic. Hana stops dead in her tracks, along with Alan and his cousin when Sans wobbles beside Undyne. Clearly he's still at risk of falling over with excessive use of his magic... 

Undyne only staggers slightly before shifting to nail the trio with a look. At the sight of Alan behind Clayton, Undyne's gold eye twitches in confusion. "What the... _Alan?_  What are you doing here, Punk?" She asks with a bit more hostility than usual. Her eye soon bounces down to Hana, widening when she realizes what's growling at her. "You guys are friends with a monster dog?"

Before Alan can open his mouth, Clayton is already snapping at the fish monster in warning. _"Move it._ This isn't any of your business. Frankly, if you knew what was going on, you'd be standing beside _us,_ not her."

Undyne seems to take his statement pretty well, gold slitted iris straining and narrowing furiously on Clayton with a deadly glare. "She's my friend, so _it is my business."_ Undyne simply says, a glowing spear already lodged in her hand despite not understanding much of the situation. The fact that she's ready to defend you wholesomely without any more details on the matter scares you a bit when you think about it, but you stay glued in your spot by the cliff. You know she can hold her own for the most part, and-

Your eyes widen a little when Undyne seems to inexplicably tense up, spear vanishing from existence as her arms pin to either side of her body. Sans himself has half fallen to the ground, breathing hard as he looks up to see what's going on with the fish woman.

"The _hell?!"_  She demands, before landing a little harder on her knees than you think is suitable. Her gold eye flicks up to stare at Clayton, who has a hand out in her direction. He doesn't look like he's using much effort to detain Undyne, and the sight of a monster you originally assumed to be unstoppable faltering so quickly makes your stomach plummet.

There's only so much luck you can be granted before it runs dry.

"Hey, Sans. No hard feelings about the classroom thing, yeah? Thanks for making me back off of (Name) after Biology earlier," Clayton states, despite moving his gaze up to meet your surprised expression. Huh? Sans did _what?_ "Would have _really_ sucked if I found out she was a witch _after_ I got her in bed. Who knows what kind of hexes she could lay on me during shit like that."

Sans looks back at you at Clayton's words, but you shake your head quickly in response. All of a sudden, you're horrified that Clayton will convince Sans to finish you off- just like the skeleton had wanted to do to begin with. Your mouth finally opens to object against Clayton.

"I am _not_ a witch!" You bark, catching a wince from Alan and an eye roll from his cousin in response.

"Yeah, yeah, they all say that. Unfortunately, hags can't argue against Hana's nose- and she's telling me you smell pretty strongly of witchcraft," Clayton answers. He seems to frown in consideration, and continues with, "Although, I _guess_ some people who've been hexed tend to retain the scent, but it's never at a drastic level and it usually fades away after time. You smell like someone who is _always_ exposed to witchcraft, and it smells strongly enough that it's alarmed Hana. Besides... You popped out in the middle of _nowhere._ You can control plant life like Alan here. Explain _that_ if you're not a witch."

_"I don't fucking know!"_ You argue to the first point, since you honestly have no idea how you popped back into reality like that. In the plant moving case, you're unwilling to sell Flowey out, so you say nothing on the matter.

"Right. Or you don't want to say it because your friends will think differently of you," Clayton continues, twisting your words around much to your frustration.

_Why me?_  You wonder again, glancing back at the drop behind you. The water is splashing a lot more violently against the rocks and cliff side, enough that it almost looks like it's reaching up for you. Trying to pull you in.

You want to jump. If only to get away from the confusion, guilt, and fear that grows around you.

"She's dangerous. Witches _all_ are. They take people and give them to demons in exchange for money, fame, love... You name it. They'll _kill_  to make their lives easier. I already know (Name) is living in a financially efficient family, the Sterlings', so she has the money part in the bag already. Witches are attracted to monsters because of their magic, and although Alan says she doesn't try to get close to you guys, your presence here proves otherwise. That's four marks against her being a normie," Clayton explains seriously, otherwise undeterred by Undyne's struggling to break free from the force keeping her restrained.

"She's _not_ a murderer! I would know, my girlfriend looked at her soul and she has no execution points. Monsters have a way of telling whether someone- monster or human- is dangerous or not! In fact, Sans here is the _Judge_ of the Underground! His tests are always accurate and he's _never_ been wrong! Ask _him!_  He'll show you himself!" Undyne exclaims in a snarl, causing Sans to jump a little in obvious nervousness.

You can already guess why, considering the last time he tried to yank your soul out.

"...Fine. Prove it to us then. I know the method you're talking about, but I wanna see it for myself. Us mages can't pull souls out, but we've read about monsters doing it in our history books. Just telling us your girlfriend- who's obviously not here- saw it, doesn't prove anything. Show _us_ and we'll let her go," Clayton finally sighs in resignation, before looking towards Sans as he takes careful breaths on the ground, giving Alan a heavy glare of frustration. Alan himself doesn't look at anyone else but you, which unnerves you more than you're willing to admit. If anything, it looks like the same stare he used to give you when your back was turned. He'd done that a few times, but never long enough for you to discern the meaning of it.

He does not have a crush on you. Maybe he never did. He was _studying_ you, likely for a completely different reason than you possibly being a witch, and you can only wonder what that reason is. Likely, you'll never find out if his cousin gets his way.

Sans makes an effort to stand and carefully walks over to you, looking very, _very_  tired. When he stops a foot away, your heart sinks in realization. You feel something inside of you curl up and retreat further inside your body, familiar from the time Alphys had experimentally pulled your soul out of you easily herself.

Your brain seems to make a terrible connection when examining the sensation and recalling something Alphys told you the night Sans tried to extract your soul from your body.

You remember feeling apprehensive when Sans asked to see your soul previously. He'd pulled on your soul no avail several times. However, when _Alphys_ asked, you were completely open and relaxed. You trusted Alphys enough to bring up the subject of your soul to her, even after Undyne let you know how serious and delicate the matter is, and your soul popped out on the first try with little conflict.

Alphys confirmed that Sans couldn't pull out your soul because your soul didn't trust him.

_And I still don't trust him now,_ you think as you look up to meet his gaze, which appears just as anxious as yours when he raises a hand to align with your chest level. Your soul seems to thrum nervously in anticipation.

The skeleton monster makes a gentle gesture with his hand. The pull makes your body jerk slightly, but nothing pups out, as both of you seemed to have already guess would be the case. He tries a second time. Other than your body being half yanked forward by an invisible force... Nothing exits like it had with Alphys.

_Shit! Why isn't anyone stopping anyways? Why is everyone just driving by like nothing is happening here? I'm standing by the edge of a cliff, are they blind or something?!_ You think, looking past Sans at the cars speeding down the road. Half of the drivers aren't even looking in your direction, and those that do seem oddly unfazed by your state and the people around you. Quite a few seem curious, but drive by too fast to really invest their thoughts into the matter.

No one cares. Either they're immune to the sight, think it's just horseplay, or think someone else will deal with it. That's the only logical explanation.

"...I can't pull her soul out," Sans admits reluctantly, turning to face Clayton, who was beginning to look a bit hopeful himself. Whatever Undyne's face looks like, you can't see since she's she's practically laying on the ground now, furiously squirming to get the invisible binds off of her.

At the skeleton's words, Clayton's lips tighten into a straight line, and he looks back at Alan for a second, reaching into his pocket and drawing out the familiar blade he was going to use before you managed to escape their loft.

Sans seems to tense up when he sees it, reaching back to snag your wrist and pull you directly behind him.

_"(Name), we don't have a choice,"_ Flowey whispers by your ear. You can already guess what he means by that sentiment, and you use your other hand to peel Sans' hand off of you quickly.

"Restrain Sans," Clayton says, taking his dagger by the blade when the grass beneath your feet twists up into long knots, coiling around Sans' wrists and around his eye sockets quickly. Obviously to keep him from teleporting anywhere or using his gravity magic, if you had to guess. Sans must have shown Alan his magic at some point, if he knows how to counter it like that.

Just as Alan tugs Sans down to the ground, you jump backwards without a second thought. The cliffs in this area are craggy, uneven, and placed in a way that you're body is bound to hit against _something_ on the way down. It makes your stomach lurch nervously. If you survive this by the ocean water, it'll be a miracle.

_On the way down... This is going to hurt **a lot,**_ you think, only to feel the first proof of your thought when your back scrapes _hard_ against the craggy side of a pointed rock formation. Half of you is relieved you didn't end up getting impaled and _stuck_ on the pointed part, but you don't hold your breath. The fall is long from over, and the initial scrape on your back tears at your clothes and back ruthlessly, likely drawing blood. Your body is half flipped forwards, enough to see the incoming rocks as you get closer and closer to the bottom.

Another part of the cliff hits your knee like a sledgehammer, with all your weight behind the impact. Your leg bends in the opposite direction unnaturally and something snaps, but the loosening of your kneecap to your femur registers faster than the pain. Your leg is still there, but you can barely feel it as the pain slowly settles in.

You want to reach up and make sure Flowey is okay, but as soon as you move your arm a little, it slams backward against something, causing it to fly out of it's socket faster than you'd have thought possible. Again, still attached, but now just as immovable and useless as your leg. Unlike the damage to your leg, the pain in your arm immediately alerts your nervous system.

Close enough to see the rocks below, you realize exactly where you'll be landing. You're positioned to hit one of the rocks below, a dome shaped stone that you already know will end everything. The chances you'll be too damaged for the water to fix you hovers in your mind as you stare down at the rock beneath you.

_Sorry I couldn't take you home, Flowey,_  you think, eyes unwilling to look away from below. All of a sudden, it's like all you can do is wonder how you'll look like to the others still at the top of the cliff. Will you be stuck atop the rock? Or will the water push you off of it?

When you finally hit the rock, you feel something inside of you crack violently.

Everything stops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHELP. Reader is dead, so I guess that's the end of the story.
> 
> THE END~!
> 
> :D
> 
> ...
> 
> ...
> 
> ;)
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)


	41. Floating Adrift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following aftermath.

 Chapter 41: Floating Adrift

 

Undyne feels the crack more than she hears it or sees it. In fact, she might have been the only one to notice it at all, considering she's the only monster in the immediate vicinity to have achieved a successful soul force with you. Depending on Papyrus' distance from yours, it's likely he might have felt it too, but she doesn't think on that prospect all that much.

By a small noise of alarm from Alan, Undyne had known what you'd done way before she felt a fragment of her own soul cry out. Both Alan and Hana had rushed to the edge of the cliff the moment you'd stepped off, leaving Clayton to stand on his own as he keeps Undyne immobilized. Whatever kind of magic the blonde punk has, it's strong enough to keep her detained. Alan seems to be able to move all sorts of plants, but unlike Clayton, doesn't appear to need to keep his focus on Sans to keep him still.

Sans himself appears to have gone completely slack in the grassy knots around him. If he has any amount of Hope left in him, it looks like he's hit _zero_ now. In a different vein, Undyne seethes as she stares at Clayton, her single gold eye unblinking as he returns the look back at her. He appears to have the gall to look _guilty,_ which is enough to make Undyne finally open her mouth.

"This is _your_ fault...! SHE WAS **INNOCENT**!" Undyne hisses, squirming even more furiously than before to get closer to Clayton. He takes a step back when she gets too close for comfort, causing Undyne to let out a frustrated scream. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO GET TO **KNOW** HER!"

"Alan knew her well enough. He's told me everything he knows about her. We didn't _want_ to do things like this, Undyne, but... We're doing it for everyone _else's_ sake. Witchcraft is NOT magic like you and I have. It exists to maim, kill, and torment people- even towards the witches that use it. If we have the means of getting rid of _one_ witch _,_ even someone we once held dear to ourselves..." Clayton casts a meaningful look past Undyne, enough that even the furious fish monster can guess he's looking at Alan. "...Then so be it."

"Alan _didn't_ know her! And it looks like SHE didn't know _Alan_ either! You didn't kill a witch- you killed **_my friend!"_  **Undyne roars, wriggling even more furiously now. Clayton frowns and his arm tenses up, like he's having to put up even more effort against Undyne's struggles.

Undyne growls, one arm shaking violently as she forces it away from her side and onto the ground. As soon as she pushes herself up against Clayton's strange magic, a glowing blue spear forms in her hand. Clayton goes pale and backs away, releasing her from his magic once he realizes he can't restrain the furious monster any longer. In the moment he moves to call out to his cousin for help, Undyne has already swung her spear straight at Clayton with deadly speed.

So quick, in fact, that if a thick bundle of glowing bones hadn't appeared in front of Clayton to stop the spear from hitting it's target, Clayton would have met as terrible of a fate as you had.

Clayton appears to stagger back from the bones on the other side, causing Undyne to immediately looks at where Sans' is seated. Had the short skeleton really intervened? After what just happened to you?

...No. Looking in Sans' direction, Undyne sees skeleton monster moving his head around in confusion under the blindfold of knotted grass tightly bound around his skull. Alan and Hana rejoin Clayton as a result of the close call on the other side of the bone line up, prompting a snarl to form across Undyne's features.

Which means...

"UNDYNE?! What in the world are you doing throwing a spear at one of the squishy male humans?!" Papyrus cries out in horror as he hops over the fence a good five yards from the scene of the crime, Druella clinging to him from his back. 

Undyne feels the fins on the sides of her head vibrate with her anger. So he wasn't close enough to feel it then...

"What in the world am _I_ doing?! Ask _them!_ Because of those three, (Name) jumped off of the cliff!" Undyne snarls, sharp teeth bared at Alan and Clayton. Several more spears form at her sides, which she sends flying at the wall of bones. Papyrus stops once he's beside Clayton and Alan, looking conflicted on his friend's behavior. Undyne only grows angrier when new bones pop up in place of those she easily damages. She could attack all day, and Papyrus could _defend_ all day. It's a stalemate fight, but damn it, Undyne is angry and she needs _one of the boys_ to hurt the way she's hurting on the inside. "STOP TRYING TO PROTECT THEM!"

"THEN STOP TRYING TO ATTACK THEM?!" Papyrus shouts with an equal amount of volume, despite his obvious confusion on Undyne's words. "WE CAN MAKE SENSE OF THIS TOGETHER IN A CALM CIVIL MANNER IF YOU STOP TRYING TO POP THE HUMANS!"

Still seething, but seeing the point Papyrus makes without him even really making it, Undyne finally stops and whirls around, using one of her spears to start cutting the grassy binds off of Sans with an irritable growl. No matter what Clayton or Alan did, with Papyrus here, he was likely to defend them because he saw the "good" in _everyone._  If Undyne made an effort to hurt the two mages, it would mean fighting Papyrus- which she _really_ wouldn't want to do. Her opportunity to attack them is already gone, and as a result, she focuses on something else to keep her from completely snapping in two.

Papyrus is speaking somewhere behind her, along with Druella and the two mages. The two boys sound tense, and Hana does not stray far from either of the humans. Not even to check out Cynthia, who'd been left to spectate on the other side of the fence while Druella and Papyrus progressed past it.

Once Sans has been cut free, Undyne stares down at him for a moment. Free from the binds and able to get up, Sans just sits in place staring down at his lap quietly. Whatever it was that Sans was feeling for you previously, even though Undyne and Frisk had mostly only been messing with him about it, seemed to make the impact of your fall bad enough to momentarily shut him down. The fish woman originally expected him to stand up and teach them a lesson- though she isn't sure how he'd have done that considering his poor stats- but... Instead he was just here. Like an empty musk of what he previously was.

The calming fish monster, finally allowing the weight of your cracked soul to hit her, casts a solemn glance towards the edge of the cliff. She hardly even realizes she's moved until she finds herself looking down the precipice of the drop you'd thrown yourself into as a means to escape. 

_Some escape,_ Undyne thinks with a sour chuckle. 

It's not funny at all, and she doesn't laugh because she thinks it is. Ironic- they still don't even fully understand why you went to Mt. Ebott to begin with. Sans explained that it looked like you were looking for something... And that it almost looked like you knew _exactly_ where to go during his time with you, which puzzled him beyond belief. 

Not that they'd ever get the answer to that anymore, considering that you're at the bottom of a cliff now...

Who would have thought the night would end like _this?_ Just earlier, you were dancing with Papyrus by the beach and playing at an arcade together to earn the maximum amount of tickets possible before closing time. You looked so happy with Papyrus. You were having fun with a _monster._

Undyne's eye narrows down past the craggy formations along the cliff. She can see your body has slid forward on the rock you landed, the upper half of you submerged and moving to the sway of the furious waves around you. Your blood has tinted much of the sea foam red in that general area, and although there's still a dark red stain on the rock, most of the water has lifted the fluids off of the sides of the craggy stone.

Someone joins her in looking down at the mess, but Undyne doesn't check to see who it is. At least, she doesn't look until the person beside her inhales sharply. 

It's Druella, looking down at the disaster that is your broken form being claimed by the sea. Right behind her is Papyrus, who Undyne didn't notice approaching while staring down at the red sea foam. Papyrus has his gloves pressed against his teeth, eye sockets staring at your body with horror. No one really needs to add in anything else- you're dead and that's that. 

_"I mean, The Great Papyrus is just concerned about Miss Human's and Pretty Human's sake! For they too are_ also _human! And I would be distraught to learn if I caused one of their soft, fragile human bodies to... To pop!"_

Undyne has to shake herself out of the memory of the group all huddled in her living room together, watching horror movies during simpler times when the only issue at the time had been Sans' attitude towards you during your post-hospital recovery.

How much did Undyne herself know you, in such a short amount of time?

_Doesn't matter,_ Undyne thinks to herself, turning away from the cliff to look at where Clayton and Alan still stood, both appearing very uncomfortable yet not attempting to run away despite their actions. Hana licks Alan's elbow, making him reach down to pet the dog's elongated head. He doesn't look happy at all, but Undyne can hardly bring herself to care considering he chose to do what he did. Although she's furious at the male humans, Undyne strides on over to Sans and hauls the dazed skeleton onto his feet. He barely resists, if at all, allowing the fish monster to grip to his wrist tightly. The skeleton almost looks like he's on another planet, now that she's really looking.

Glancing once more at Alan and Clayton, Undyne speaks up.

"... I hope to _god_ the two of you get _exactly_ what you deserve for this," Undyne spits in their direction, hand still wrapped around the spear she held. 

She could always report this to the human authorities, the police, but... As a monster, it likely wouldn't go well in her favor. Even with your family's money to back her up. By the time anyone got around, your body will have already been washed out to sea- and people would likely mark it off as a 'missing person's case. Anything to get rid of monsters and "monster lovers"- even if you vehemently denied liking monsters at all. Reporting it to get you justice would amount to nothing, in the end.

What she wouldn't give to still have the go-ahead to collect a human soul- if only for the reason to get back at the two for making her friend throw herself off the cliff.

Resisting every magic thrum in her body urging her to get revenge right then and there, Undyne straightens up and lifts Sans up under one arm stiffly.

"Paps. Dru. Watch your back around those two. They've got nice faces, but those humans are  _murderers_ ," Undyne calls out to Papyrus, ignoring Clayton's grunt in response to her words. At least he doesn't deny it.

With that, Undyne hops over the fence in a single leap and takes to an uncharacteristic walk as she drifts away from the crime scene. Any attempts to distance herself from her thoughts of you cease to work, and the only consistent one that pops in her head remains how she will break it to Alphys, who had texted her earlier repeatedly out of excitement to study your soul in the lab and get the details on your date with Papyrus.

What should have been a happy conversation about the day's events, after she'd dropped Sans' off at his place, ended with both Alphys and Undyne sleeping further apart than usual.

* * *

**(The Next Day: Wednesday)**

Libby lets out a sharp curse on her way out of your bedroom, beelining it for the kitchen. Her tangled blonde locks swing with her movements as she carelessly scatters the mail thrown on the dining table. With it being in the way, Libby grabs her handbag from the table top and tosses it on the counter behind her, exhaling in relief when she sees what had been hiding underneath the bag.

"Yes!" She huffs as she snatches up her smartphone, cleaning the smudges on the screen with her sleeve before entering a number and pressing the device to her ear. The device rings as the line attempts to connect, causing her body to tense up anxiously. Her heart pounds wildly in her chest, words already forming to come up with the best way to approach the situation. 

_"911 Operator here, what is your emergency?"_

Libby's heart accelerates, and she nearly hangs up then and there. She catches herself before she can pull her phone away though, and takes a moment to replay her words in her head. It's not like she's actually calling the police station directly this time- she's calling a dispacher without the anonymous star-sixty-seven trick. Her toes throb from the extra toenails she'd dropped the night before to set a protection spell on you, but a peek in her spell book that morning immediately alerted her the spell had inexplicably cancelled sometime in the night. Either the spell wasn't strong enough or... 

Something involving magic broke the charm.

To make things worse, upon flipping through the pages currently harboring stones, Libby realized that the rest of the charms under your name had deactivated as well. It that isn't a cause for concern, she's not sure _what_ is.

"My sister didn't come home last night and she's still not home yet. I think something bad happened," Libby manages to choke out, her chest coiling up quickly as she waits for the answer on the line. Will they think badly of her because she didn't call sooner?

_"Alright miss. Please give me your name and address so I can send a-"_

"Send a _female_ officer please. My name is Liberty Sterling and my address is 17618 Vernon Court, St. Ebott, 94562," Libby quickly interjects, wincing at the thought of rejection on the dispacher's end. If she has to allow one of those horrible male officer's in...!

_"Alright. A female officer has been dispached and will be there in five minutes for a statement."_

Libby almost laughs in relief at the compliance, quickly bidding the person on the line goodbye and setting her phone on the table. Once she's the only one listening, she inhales deeply and prepares herself to face her fears. The cops know her as a drunk spazz- it's time to be professional now. For _your_ sake. Libby doesn't want the officer to dismiss her concerns and peg her as a person to not take seriously, especially if you'll end up paying the price for it.

To keep herself from becoming a nervous wreck, Libby moves to stuff her spellbook and tools back under her bed for the meantime. Once she has it hidden under, she moves to scoop up Brownie and stick her in her pet carrying cage by the screen door leading to the back yard. The kitten meows for Libby midst her attempts to groom herself to be presentable, despite still wearing her usual skirt and blouse from when she's working at the family bank.

She pauses momentarily, staring at her reflection on the mirror set on the back of her bedroom door.

Her hair looks great, straightened and curled at the ends in a way that fly-aways are the least of her aesthetic problems. Her make up hasn't smudged anywhere, proving that her most recent setting spray purchase may end up being her go-to buy whenever she runs out. All in all, she looks very well dressed and has a stunning over-all appearance.

...Which only makes her shrink back from the mirror and leave her bedroom for air. She doesn't look as worried as she feels, and wonders what the officer will think once she gets there.

By the time she hears the bell ring, Libby is already within arm's length to unlock the new door handle she installed the night before. On the other side of the door stands a woman maybe only a few inches shorter than herself, wearing the usual dark blue-black short sleeve and pants combination that most officers are to wear in the area. Over her right breast hangs a gold star badge pinned to her shirt pocket, causing Libby's eyes to widen a bit in shock.

"Hello. You're Liberty Sterling, I presume?" The regal woman, sporting her brown hair in a tight bun behind the nape of her neck asks. Libby can only manage a wordless nod in reply, moving aside to let the woman inside. "Sheriff Salazar. You requested a female officer for reasons I can already guess, considering your last visit three months ago, and the only one in the area is me. My partner is outside, but I've asked him to wait while I talk with you."

_She knows?_  Libby thinks in surprise, before nodding once more. Words seem to have escaped her for the moment.

Sheriff Salazar nods as well in understanding, before gesturing towards the living room. "Let's sit down for this, Miss Sterling, because this isn't the first call we've gotten regarding your adopted sister, (Name) Sterling, and based on the other information from a separate situation, this appears to be very serious." 

Libby's heart skips a dreadful beat as she leads the sheriff to the couch, taking a seat in a recliner just across from the woman. What does she mean by serious? Even more serious than Libby considered?

"Miss Sterling... We've received three calls telling us that (Name) Sterling was around the northern area of the city close to the city limits around four-thirty AM last night when she tumbled off the side of the cliff into one of the bluffs."

The silence that extends between the two suddenly becomes suffocating. Libby's hands sweat in the areas they come in contact with one another, making her flex them to regain the feeling under her skin. She wonders if she really just heard what the sheriff has just told her.

"Although we've received calls on the matter, we have not confirmed anything as of yet due to limited evidence on the matter. For now, we're going around asking those closest to your sister about their whereabouts and the events surrounding her disappearance. We stopped by your place earlier, but you weren't home at the time, so we decided to get information from some of your sister's friends before getting back to you. Am I correct in my understanding that you and your family are close friends with the Silverods north of here?"

Not expecting the query on an entirely different topic than you, Libby raises a confused eyebrow, but still manages to force out a confirmation. "Y-yeah. Our families are very close, but... What does that have anything to do with-?"

The sheriff raises a hand, making Libby cut herself off. "You'll understand eventually, please hold off any questions for now. We're under very strict time frame if we're going to figure out what events led to the issue at hand and whether it's salvagable at this point. Most of the other officers are looking into details regarding an unusual accident that ended with the death of a young lady of the Silverod family named Halley Silverod. We have information from two other sources that she was here the night she died and would like to confirm whether or not this is true. Our sources say she was invited inside by your sister." 

Libby's attention drifts off as she allows this new information to sink in. She knows exactly what happened to Halley, but of course, it's not something she can just up and admit to the sheriff like it's Friday night gossip. Talk of the cult to outsiders is forbidden, and the higher power might be angered. Unless she wants to end up in a similar situation to Halley... It's best she obeys the rules. She'll have to be careful- the sheriff is the sheriff for a reason. Sheriff Salazar herself is renowned for her observation skills...

_Halley's dead,_ Libby thinks to herself, exhaling softly in surprise. _All that gambling must have run her bank dry... No money, no status. No status, no power. No power, no magic._ _No magic and you're useless to the higher power, equating to immediate removal. Or simply put- death._

"I was out nearly all day yesterday, but I came back around at around maybe two in the morning or something after some overtime. When I came back, (Name) was heading out to go on a walk, and that's the last time I saw her. In the house, I didn't see anyone else... I haven't even seen Halley Silverod in two months or something," Libby explains, dismissing her own musings for the moment. 

Sheriff Salazar stares at her momentarily, hazel eyes studying Libby's features for any signs of illegitimacy. After a moment, she backs off and scribbles some notes in shorthand on a notepad Libby hadn't noticed her bring along. Libby wrings her hands a little, just before wiping the minor sweat between her fingers off on her pencil skirt and pulling it a little lower down her legs when she notices how it's riding up.

"...If you don't mind me asking, what happened to Halley? She's a childhood friend of the family and..." Libby swallows down the rest of her words, trailing off as her thoughts spin out of control. Was your incident related to Halley's?

"There was an accident that involved some inebriated boys and a car hitting a fire hydrant. It dislodged the hydrant, causing it to fly towards your friend. What's puzzling about the situation is that both your friend and sister ran off in the night at the same time and both seem to have ended up facing terrible consequences- your sister still presumably missing for the most part. We've yet to hear about a body turning up anywhere, and we're clinging to that hope despite what we've heard so far. It's a little suspicious if you ask me," Sheriff Salazar explains, giving Libby a meaningful look that has the tall blonde's back straightening up. "Are you sure you don't have anymore information on the matter?"

"Um..." Libby fumbles a little, before shaking her nerves off and regaining her composure. ANYTHING to help find you. "Last night, when I came back, she was just leaving and... Well, we've kind of been in a bit of a bind lately. See, she doesn't like monsters and I tried to get her to give them a chance before passing judgement, and she didn't take it well. We were only exchanging a few words these past two weeks. Last night, I told her it was dangerous to go out so late, especially since only a week ago, she was recovering at the hospital from a kidnapper that stabbed her. She's stubborn though, and I let her go anyways since she would have never listened to me- even _less_ regarding the issues between us. I made her promise to call me in case something happened and waited for a while last night to see if she'd come back. I even send her a few messages last night to get her to at least tell me she was okay, but she didn't answer any of them, so I went to sleep and decided to wait till today to see if maybe she would come stumbling in around the day."

"...But she didn't," Sheriff Salazar guesses, answered by Libby's nod when her gaze falls down to her hands- wringing together once again.

"I don't know if I should have put up more of a fight to keep her here. It probably would have made her storm out even faster, but... Maybe it could have actually worked and kept her home," Libby thinks out loud. "...Maybe it's my fault she ran out to begin with."

Sheriff Salazar sighs lightly, reaching over to place a hand over Libby's nervously wringing ones. Looking up, Libby is met with a gentle smile from the normally hard-as-nails sheriff of St. Ebott City and the suburbs of Ebott Creek. 

"In times like these we shouldn't blame ourselves for the actions of others. I'm sure you only thought you were doing what's best to stay on your sister's good side, and that kind of consideration for others is important in any kind of relationship. Whether it was a mistake or not, your sister chose to go out at a late hour despite already having faced danger so recently. You are not at fault for caring, Miss Sterling," Sheriff Salazar says, meeting Libby's gaze to make sure she absorbs her words. "Now... Let's continue. The sooner we get all the details, the sooner we find out what's happened to your sister."

Libby manages a nod, water forming behind her eyes at the Sheriff's words.

_If she's okay though... Why did the other spells stop working then?_  Libby wonders, preparing herself to answer some more questions to figure out the details on your sudden disappearance. If you weren't okay... Libby's not sure what she'd do without you.

* * *

  **(Three Days Post Cliffdive)**

The last thing Sans wants to do is go to class again after the blur of the last two days, so as soon as he opens his eye sockets and glances at the alarm clock next to the stained mattress he's laying on, he lets out a heavy sigh of relief. 

Friday. October the freaking fifth. A perfect day to do nothing but wallow away and stare at the ceiling for a couple of hours. Papyrus seemed considerably distant after the other night's events, but whenever Sans enters the room, the tall skeleton seems to amp up his brightness- even cracking a few awful puns that doesn't fail to make Sans crack a bit of a smile despite the circumstances. 

For only being around them for a little while, your sassy attitude sure is missed... It seems as if Undyne and Papyrus are the ones the most affected by your death, likely due to their soul force bond with you, and it shows more than Sans thought it would. The two monsters, despite usually being naturally rambunctious, haven't been as spirited as usual since you jumped. They constantly zone out during cooking lessons and practice, enough for Sans to walk in and find them aimlessly staring at... nothing. Well, at least until Papyrus notices Sans. Then the skeleton brightens up a few notches to get Undyne functioning again.

Sans himself never looked to see what was at the bottom of the cliff after your jump. Even his brother saw, but Sans... He couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to see the result of his mistakes haunt him. 

He blames himself for your mistrust in him, and wonders if you'd have approached both him and Undyne had he not been so cruel to you in the beginning. For all his analysis and contemplating, he still doesn't know why he was so mean to you in the first place. He doesn't understand how he quickly grew to resent you over so little, and at this point he even blames himself over the fact that you abandoned him Underground.

Hell. If it was the other way around and you'd been the one harassing him, he'd have done the same. 

_...Teleported and saved her underground, only for her to end up dying because I couldn't pull my own weight,_ Sans thinks to himself, chewing on his bottom mouth ridge thoughtfully. He feels less lively after the incident. Sans is not particularly grieving over your death, but he's definitely sober minded as he thinks about you. What it would have been like to be friends with you, watching you resist the urge to laugh at his puns or scoot away from him when he got too close. It's... Mildly upsetting he'll never get to know you, and that you passed without him ever getting a reasonable chance to win your companionship.

Sans sighs again, this time pushing himself up in a sitting position and fixing the white shirt he has on.

Friday. October the freaking fifth.

...

"...I better go earn some money then. Alphys might need some extra hands at the lab for the soul studies," Sans decides in the end, forcing himself to stand up and make his way to the shower. Without warning, his life had returned to the way it was before you messaged him thinking you were contacting Papyrus.

A peek in the bathroom mirror at his own soul and Sans feels his nonexistent stomach sink a little....

**ATK:  1**

**DEF:  1**

**HP:  ...**

**...1.**

* * *

**(Six Days Post Cliffdive)**

Alphys slurps up a forkful of ramen, not bothering to be careful about the noise she makes as she eats, waiting for the day's patient to walk in for the soul examination. She reaches forward to let her claws click out of a page with the computer mouse, revealing the background image on her computer of a group picture taken at a park. It's got Undyne and Papyrus standing on either side of two females- one human with a disdainful look of discontent on her face and herself- squished together and waiting for the snap of the front camera under the dimming light. 

Although the image brings waves of pity rolling over Alphys, she doesn't linger to stare at it. It's a nice photo, despite the morbid reminder of your death... She wants to remember the good that came with getting to know you for such a short amount of time. She'd returned the box anime of _Corpse Party_ to the DVD rental where Alan works, but didn't meet his eye. Undyne told her what happened, _every_ detail. 

Alan appeared somewhat uncomfortable upon her visit and flat tone when speaking, the lizard monster even managing not to stutter even _once._

She might have snapped at him a little too, something even more out of character for her than speaking so clearly, but didn't attempt retracting the insignificant comment she made... Whatever it had been, that is. She barely remembers what she said- only that it made her feel a teensy bit better once she returned the anime DVDs and waltzed out of the shop. Since returning the DVD on Wednesday, she'd understandably found a different DVD rental to start visiting for her anime binges. It's sort of out of the way than the one Alan works at, but honestly, Alphys really doesn't care about spending a bit more gas.

She doesn't want to see the _"nice"_ human that ended up causing you to jump off a cliff to your death.

Someone knocks on the door to the room, making Alphys look up. "It's open," she speaks up shortly.

A moment later, presumably due to a bit of hesitance, the door opens and a familiar short skeleton walks in, wearing a lab coat over his stained white shirt and holding a clipboard that he scans several times on the way inside the room. Behind him follows a tall human female, one that immediately has Alphys snapping out of her disquieted funk of emotions at the sight of her. She knows her, but hasn't seen her in some time- at least not since the night Alphys dragged you to Asgore's place to hide you from Sans.

"D-Druella?" Alphys asks around another bite of noodles she'd scooped into her mouth before Druella's appearance, only half embarrassed to discover the return of her regular stutter seeping into her voice again. She can't say she really _hates_ it, considering how empty she's felt these past few days whenever her voice comes out so flat and stutter-less. 

The tall human looks up from the back of Sans' skull to meet Alphys gaze with her ever present mask of iron, all emotions blanketed from sight. Much to Alphys' surprise, since the gold lizard is aware Druella was a friend of yours and had seen your body first hand following your fall, a slight twinkle appears in her eye when she sees the familiar lizard monster by the computer. Embarrassed by the noodles still hanging from her mouth, Alphys quickly finishes bringing them into her mouth with in a slurp-less rush, clearing her throat as soon as she's swallowed down the ramen. 

"Alphys," Druella simply answers, though the lack of further context doesn't bother Alphys much. Alphys can see that Druella likes seeing her again, even with only her eyes as a method of communication. Druella is a woman of very little words, but somehow manages to convey enough by merely meeting her gaze. As far as Alphys can tell, not many can make her crack that slight tilt of her lips. The only person she can recall doing that is you, on that same night Alphys took you to Asgore's.

"She's the next one on the list for the soul examination, so let's get her set up, Alph," Sans explains, not looking up from the clipboard as he points towards the paper covered bed in the middle of the room and tapping the top of it with the point of his phalange. "First off, we're gonna have you undress for us to your undergarments and rest on the bed here. Then we're gonna hook you up to some machines to keep track of your vital signs."

Druella begins removing her clothing with little agreement, other than proceeding with the objective given to her. Once her gray sweater shirt and black leggings are removed, she folds them elegantly and discards them in a bucket Sans holds out to her. Momentarily, Alphys catches Sans eye her mostly bare torso with a strange look, just before his eye lights dart across the room to the group picture on Alphys' computer. She can't blame him- human bodies are oddly fragile and soft looking, despite them being so much stronger and having solidity unlike that of monster bodies. Sure, there are a few monsters with softer, squishier forms like that of the violet slime monster Mauve and the tentacled sea monster Onion-san, but they're resilient. Mauve can get implaled and simply shift her slimy form around so that her body reforms around the foreign object. Onion-san has more than one arm, and although he can't really reform himself like Mauve can, he's pretty large and has a thickness that is difficult to penetrate.

Humans are odd, and it only makes studying them even more interesting when she discovers the many strange fluids and components their bodies harbor. The fact that there's a single organ in their head that sovereign their ability to communicate, feel, and think is astounding. Even the slightest tampering, as recorded in history since Alphys would _never_ test something like that herself, could consequentially alter their personality. 

Druella takes a seat on the bed, causing the paper to crinkle under her weight as she swings her legs over the side and lays back with an oddly composed and relaxed outlook. Usually, the humans, at least those so far, exhibit a slight hesitancy and nervousness whenever entering. Even those that come in pretty confident usually lose that composure when discarding their clothing for the tests, so the sight of Druella reclining with such ease leaves Alphys scratching her head in mild confusion.

After a simple head shake to resume her work, Alphys pulls a trolly stacked with several monitors closer to the bed and starts placing wired stickers across the areas of Druella's body that human doctors indicated to her several times. Meanwhile, Sans connects the wires and plugs of the systems quickly with ease, almost robotically with how he seems to barely second guess himself. After a few moments, Sans gets up and excuses himself out of the room to retrieve a sterile syringe and a dose of Valium to ease any stress during the check up. Not that Alphys thinks Druella will need it though, considering how comfortable in her skin she appears.

It's while Alphys is calibrating the machines that Druella suddenly speaks up from out of nowhere.

"...Are you okay?"

Alphys looks up at Druella in surprise, shifting her eyes around to see if maybe she's talking to Sans. Glancing around the room though, it comes to Alphys attention that he hasn't returned yet- meaning the girl is talking to her specifically. Why would she be asking that...?

"Y-yes, I'm perfectly fine. Why do you ask?" Alphys inquires curiously, watching as Druella meets her gaze unflinchingly. The intense weight of her gaze mildly unsettles her, but Alphys does her best not to look away. 

Unexpectedly, Druella cracks one of those barely visible half-smiles and reaches out with one hand- resting it on Alphys' cheek bone and gently rubbing the monster's face tenderly. It's enough to make Alphys blush at the unexpected affection. All of a sudden, Alphys feels like a child being comforted by an adult, even though Druella is only a year or two older than her.

"Don't worry," Druella says with a strange tone in her voice that oddly enough almost gives her words a musical-like lilt, before the familiar twinkle in her eye returns. Alphys freezes like a deer in headlights. "Everything is going to be fine. You'll see."

_Huh?_ Alphys quirks a brow ridge at Druella's cryptic words, wondering what she could mean. Before she can open her mouth to ask Druella what in the world she's talking about the door is lazily kicked open, revealing Sans flicking a fresh syringe and expelling the last of the air inside it's chamber. Druella removes her hand from Alphys' face, returning it to her side on the bed.

"Alright, Druella," Sans says, before a lazy grin forms across his skeletal face. "Just to reinstate a **point**  before we start, if we end up **striking a nerve**  with this test, please know that the papers you signed when entering this lab means we are not liable for any damage to your person as a result of these exams. If you try to take a **shot** at us in court, we will fight back. Capiche?"

Alphys lets out a long sigh of annoyance. "Sans, I thought we already talked about your jokes in the lab, W-we have to maintain a certain professionalism with our patients, and that means no puns."

"Aw, come on, Alph. You're _smiling."_

Alphys presses a hand to her forehead, letting out a breath of barely restrained chuckles that likely would encourage her partner.

_I am and I hate it..._  Alphys thinks, the smile across her lips remaining for the rest of the session with Druella.

* * *

  **(One Week Post Cliffdive)**

Sans is in a bit of trouble.

Is he in danger? Nah. Is this trouble he can escape? No. Is there any salvation in his near future? Of course there is.

"SANS! What in the _world_ were you thinking skipping class yesterday night?! Do you have _any_ idea on how the class etiquette functions up here on the surface?! Brother, your class syllabus tells me you lost an ENTIRE 5 POINTS FOR SKIPPING YOUR SPACE ROCKS STUDIES!" Papyrus howls, waving a dirty spaghetti fork around in the air and sending noodles across the room with his dramatic movements. A few of them land on Sans' head, but he doesn't remove his hands from his jacket pockets to reach up and swat it off, choosing to leave it there.

"Cool. Thanks for the **angel hair,** bro," Sans replies, before adding in, "By the way, it's called _astronomy_."

"EXTRATERRESTRIAL STONE STUDIES! _"_ Papyrus barks again, swinging both arms up as he stares down at Sans' shorter form. "Brother, those are five points you are going to regret losing by the end of the semester! How in the world are you going to earn an 'F' on your final class grade at this rate?!"

Sans raises a dubious brow bone. "An 'F'?" 

Papyrus fumes again, enough that Sans almost sees smoke bursting from either end of his skull. "YES! Are you telling me you are unaware of the human grading scale up here?! GAH! You are _very_ lucky you have a cool, heroic brother like myself to keep you in line! I dread to think what would become of you without me around to set you on the right path!"

"Mm-hmm. So, mind explainin' **olive**  that grading scale info to me?" Sans inquires.

"Well, it is very simple! See, you have 'A' for Amazing, 'B' for Basic, 'C' for Clumsy, and 'D' for Despicable!" Papyrus says, the pun Sans' made seemingly going straight over his head. At least, until Sans notices the slight twitch of his right eye socket.

"What about 'F'?" Sans inquires, watching as Papyrus lets out a haughty laugh.

"Ah yes! The renowned _'F'_ for _Fabulous!_ Mettaton already taught me that one a _long_ time ago! Now, enough squabbling here, GET TO CLASS! I will _not_ allow you to skip today's lesson like you've done with yesterdays, lazy bones!" Papyrus huffs, pointing his fork at his brother and sending more noodles across Sans' face.

Sans concedes with a soft laugh of resignation. "Fine, Paps. You win, I'll go get my stuff and go to class."

"Yes, yes you very much will. I will be messaging the number of your lab partner you left on your syllabus to make sure you actually make it there and pay attention to the class material, understood? I will not stand for any lollygagging during these trying times!" Papyrus huffs, returning to the kitchen while grumbling to himself under his breath. Once he's returned to the kitchen, Sans gathers his stuff from his bedroom and teleports to the hall leading into his biology class. He's not too early, as many of the students are already gathered outside the classroom, waiting for the professor to arrive.

Opposite of Sans when he teleports there is Clayton Barrett, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest as he stares intensely at the ground and his feet. Whatever he's thinking about, Sans could hardly bring himself to care. Several times, he considered dunking on both him and Alan for what they cornered you into doing... However, last Thursday's class didn't amount to any sort of attack from either end though, just stiff silence and an avoidance of eye contact between one another. Sans honestly just couldn't bring himself to do it for some reason. You didn't like murder at all, from what Undyne told him. If you were here... You'd _never_ allow Sans to attack either of the boys, no matter how badly they messed up or whatever they did. In a sense, you were almost like Papyrus- talking the group into merely reporting the incident and allowing the justice system to take over from there, avoiding any confrontation that would hurt either party in any physical way.

Clayton doesn't look up at Sans, and Sans turns to lean his side against the wall in case he happens to look up. If they actually make eye contact, Sans isn't sure if he'll be spurred into that same rage he once sported towards you- for even smaller reasons than the reasons he has in Clayton's case. The short skeleton takes a deep breath to center himself and pulls his hood up protectively.

"Um... Sans?"

The gentle, familiar voice of Betsy Bunswick barely reaches Sans through his flurry of conflicted thoughts, but he manages to bring himself to turn and face the rabbit monster that's appeared beside him with a concerned smile. 

"Hey, **somebunny's** got a new piercing, I see," Sans chuckles as a way to deflect his discomfort, watching the rabbit monster puff up her cheeks in slight annoyance before fingering the ring going through the upper side of her left ear. "Looks cool, Bets."

This gets a smile out of her, but only momentarily. She cuts to the chase soon enough, on a topic that is only a thousand times more uncomfortable than any other she could have possibly brought up to him. "Have you seen (Name) lately? I sent her a few text the other day but I never got any reply on her end... She told me over lunch last Tuesday that she's been around your brother and Undyne for a while now. I was just wondering if she's doing okay and is maybe angry with me over something?"

If Sans' Hope could plummet any further, it would. Seeing Betsy honestly worried over you touches him, even though you were a rather difficult person to please... Which only makes the answer he has to give her even harder than it would if it were only him that was affected by it.

"She's not mad with you, Bets, don't worry. Let's just say that she's.... Not going to be around for a while," Sans manages to say, making Betsy's expression deepen with worry as she cocks her head slightly to the side. 

"...i don't understand. What do you mean by-?" She begins to ask, before Sans is saved by the professor briskly walking past the students to unlock the classroom. 

"I'll explain later, Betsy," Sans replies, nearly rushing to his seat as soon as the door is opened. Once seated, Sans lets out a soft breath he didn't even realize he was holding, regardless of the fact that he has no lungs to contain aforementioned air. Dodged a bullet.

As the students fill the seats in the classroom, only three seats remain empty by the time everyone has settled and pulled their class materials out. Within the next five minutes, another student walks in. Only two empty seats remaining- the seat of his own hyper partner and your seat in front of his. Eraser dust has settled on your seat from another student in an earlier class, with no one to swipe it clean of the dirt.

Betsy looks back at Sans momentarily, but he quickly averts his gaze as the Teacher begins calling out roll. When he passes your name, Sans notices Clayton tense up out of the corner of his eye, but other than that, the male mage is slouching in his seat with his arms crossed, staring aimlessly into the space ahead of him. Sans resists the urge to throw something at the terrible human.

_Focus on something else,_ Sans reminds himself, pulling his phone out and snapping a photo to send to Papyrus, since his partner likely wouldn't be able to answer any text from his brother. 

A quick message confirming the legitimacy of the classroom selfie and Sans chuckles, shoving his phone back in his pocket when Papyrus complains about the usage of cellphones in class being _strictly forbidden._  Sans wonders how in the world Papyrus expected his partner to answer if she was going to be in class when responding to him, but doesn't bother making the point to his bro. His brother always seems to be able to put a smile on Sans' face, even through a time when Papyrus himself is in a similar state of melancholy.

"Well, I see we're missing two students, so... Betsy and Sans? You two will be-"

The sound of the door creaking open barely catches the students attention at all. Those who do see it, immediately dismiss it as just another late student, which it technically is. It's only until their mouth opens that the rest of the heads turn to look at the late arrival.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor."

Sans feels the gentle thrumming of his soul give a powerful, almost body unraveling thump that stops his system for a moment. Once the thrumming starts again and resumes in a much faster pace, he whips his neck around to the door just in front of him, eye sockets widening in absolute disbelief at the sight of the college student standing there with her arms around a maroon colored binder and a green plant-like head band wound around with a closed golden flower at the top.

**No fucking way,** Sans thinks to himself as his eye lights turn into pin pricks within his sockets.

"...? Ah. You've returned. Finally decided to grace us with your presence once more? You missed the lab last Thursday worth twenty points, I hope this isn't going to be a regular thing. I suggest you take this class a little more seriously, it's no easy 'A'," the professor says, clearly not affected by the student's appearance in any other way than mild annoyance.

"No, it's not going to be a regular incident. I was sort of... **Floating adrift**  for a bit. I've straightened the issues out already though, so no worries."

Sans feels his jaw gaping open slightly, eye lights unwilling to move away from the late student. The professor nods to the girl, before gesturing to Betsy's table. "You'll have to join Betsy and Sans as partners since the hyper one is absent. That won't be a problem, will it?" 

Her eyes meet Sans', sending a violent shiver down his spine. The rest of his body turns to stone under her piercing gaze.

"Not at all."

She walks forward and sets her binder on the table beside the grinning rabbit monster, who's perked up considerably at the sight of her human friend.

Moving around the table to sit while the professor resumes speaking about the objective of the day, Sans stares as the human female dusts her once empty chair free of eraser shavings. Once the chair is clean, she pulls her blue skirt taut around her thighs and takes a seat. Betsy is quick to greet her, earning a comment from the human that makes the rabbit monster grin even more in clear delight.

Just when Sans is about to reach up and check if something has fallen in his eye sockets to be seeing what he's seeing, the girl in the seat before him turns around entirely to meet his gaze. His bones rattle momentarily as her lips pull at the corners to give him a rather smug grin. Sans is glued in place once more.

"Good morning, Sans," you greet the frozen skeleton, though you don't wait for a reply before you've returned your attention to the professor standing at the front of the classroom.

_What? But... **What?**  _Sans wonders, staring at skin of your shoulders exposed with the black shoulder hugging blouse you have tucked under your skirt's waistband. Confusion twisters around in his head like a blender, until he realizes something else and turns his head to look at the student sitting a few tables to the back.

Clayton's eyes nearly drill into your backside dangerously with a barely concealed look of shock, just before meeting Sans' stare. It's almost as if the two are having similar thoughts, and Sans left eye flashes with magic threateningly. Although he doesn't understand what's happened and doesn't know how the _hell_ you've risen from the dead, he at least knows one thing for certain.

Clayton will sooner be _burning in hell_ before he attempts to lay his hands on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, my hand slipped~! ;)
> 
> *whispers sensually with echos* _Happy Fourth of July..._
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)


	42. Diabolical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey's side of the fall, ???, and your return home to something terrible.

 Chapter 42: Diabolical

 

Flowey manages to get a vine to grapple under the edge of the cliff just before you completely plummet downwards, anchoring himself underneath the rock formation and sinking into the Earth with little difficulty after glancing down at a spot he can pop up at near the bottom where none of the monsters or humans above would spot him. Rather than watch you fall the entire way down, the gold petaled flower gets straight to work, burrowing lower and lower down the cliff until the two of you are at the bottom. Much to Flowey's inherent dismay, he pops back up at the bottom of a curve along the craggy bluffs in time for your body to land face first against one of the flat rocks at the bottom- exactly how you described might have happened while still at the top of the cliff.

The flower makes a face at the sickening cracking and splat combination. He's no expert, but it sounds a lot like broken ribs and squashed organs- enough that the flower momentarily ponders whether or not you're beyond saving at this point. As the waves around the rock splash over your right arm and your splayed legs (one of your knees bent backwards in the opposite direction), however, Flowey is quick to notice the change in your arm's position and wounds, prompting him to straighten his stem with an uncanny rush of Hope.

_Yes! She can still heal- I need to get her torso and head in the water before ANYTHING else!_  Flowey thinks, glancing down at the side of the cliff under the water and cracking a sneaky smile as vines drift towards the rock you're laying on, making sure to keep the plants beneath the water as it nears you. Once the vines are close to your wrists, they wrap around tightly and pull you closer to the edge, enough to half submerge you into the salty sea water. You still remain unmoving for the most part, while Flowey works on tugging you further along the rock. Your clothing snags on the craggy surface several times, but with efficient and forceful tugs, Flowey eventually manages to completely submerge you into the water, moving his vines to wrap around your waist.

Flowey winces at the feeling of your shattered bones underneath your skin, loosening his grip around you and looking around at the water as it increases in force. He can't keep you in this area if the waters are going be throwing you around and ruining your body's attempts to recover.

With a click of his tongue, Flowey leans out to look past the curve of cliffs rocks hiding him. No one's looking down anymore... Did they all leave? 'Cause if they did, that means he can get you somewhere else... Like that little cove a little further from the bluffs he saw before.

Flowey takes a deep breath and releases the wall to drift into the ocean water, allowing himself to drift down by the weight of your body.

Time to get creative on swimming techniques.

* * *

**(?? Days Post Cliffdive)**

The subject is intrigued.

Hundreds of colors flood the area around it, in ways it once remembered before the damage. All are different, even those that appear to bear the same colors, flickering and spiking with energy in relation to one another.

Some colors have destination, yet others drift about aimlessly with no real objective. Most colors walk in groups of two or more, yet some remain alone by themselves. It is the groups that catch the subjects attention.

The colors do not connect together like the subject has seen them do before. As observed by the subject, some colors appear to reach out with their energy in an attempt to connect when close to one another, yet they never extend far enough. Something about the colors block the connection they once could achieve.

The subject is overcome with curiosity.

Among the colors, however, are the colorless. Between the colorless, there are some that have made a connection, thin thread-like strings linking to certain other colorless. Unlike the colors, most of these colorless look similar. Some are dim or small, but others shine as brightly as one another.

The bright ones are the ones the subject finds interest in.

Catching the subject's attention is a colorless drifting into a lonely street by itself. It almost appears as if it's quivering, like it's holding in energy that desperately needs to be released. Whether that is the reason for the colorless moving to an otherwise empty street is of no importance to the subject.

One of the subject's limbs begins coagulating, poised to make an advance as soon as presented the opportunity.

The scent of an aquatic consumable for higher ranking colors fills the air around the colorless.

Just before the subject can move in, the colorless flares to life, energy spiking wildly as it proceeds to begin attacking one of the large structures that make up habitual locations for the colors. The structure appears to be currently empty, and the colorless continues allowing the thrashing of it's energy to damage what it can.

The subject halts to observe the shaking colorless as it eventually comes to a stop. By the time it's collapsed to the ground, the colorless is dim and significantly smaller than it was prior to it's thrashing. It's obvious the colorless is upset, but the subject hardly finds concern over the matter, allowing the coagulation in it's limb to reverse.

This colorless is useless. It's feeble and small- not suitable for an advancement. An attempt to proceed will likely shatter it, like it had with a previous attempt on another colorless.

Two attempts were made on colors before. Both ended in failure despite the vastly contrasting strengths in consistency between the colors and the colorless. Based on the attempts, the colorless are likely the better of the two to be able to handle an advancement.

The subject made a first attempt on a small colorless that ended in failure, prior to crossing the border, using charged energy to cross for a small amount of time. The time frame being far too narrow to search for another, the subject was forced to retreat.

No need to charge energy for crossing anymore.

Energy taken from the weak colorless, the dull color, and the empty proved sufficient enough to permanently cross- leaving the nonexistent behind on the other side. The subject knew following the music would benefit- should have figured it out sooner.

The nonexistent was very protective of it and panicked once the subject learned it would try to find it within the mountain. The empty lingered for an indeterminable amount of time before the appearance of the dull color- and following that- a different weak colorless.

The empty has nothing to offer, and is therefore useless.

The dull color would have been promising had it not cracked.

Now the subject must search for a suitable colorless instead.

As the current weak colorless before it lingers following it's strange thrashing, the subject turns away to leave, merging with the sea of colors and the sprinkled colorless among them.

Find a target.

Advance.

_Proceed with repairs._

* * *

**(6 Days Post Cliffdive)**

Your muscles twitch with a jerk, disturbing your surroundings as you crack open an eyelid. That's funny... You don't really feel all that groggy. Did you honestly sleep _that_ well? Heck, can you even remember the last time you slept as well as this?

As your eyes open slightly, you're met with the blurry sight of a dark, yet sort of green view. Confused, you blink a bit and then bring your hands up to rub your eyes. The movement immediately strikes you as odd, and you get with rubbing your eyes quickly to see what's going on. Once you've cleared whatever you think is in them, you open both orbs wide and stare up at what's in front of you.

A wall?

You try to exhale through your mouth, only to half panic when you realize nothing but startlingly cold water comes from between your lips. As you try to exhale again, with a little more force, you're appalled to realize there's literally only _ice cold_   _water_ inside you, prompting you to flail and then kick off from the bottom of wherever you are. Considering how quickly you break through the surface and feel a breeze drift across your moist skin, you deduce you're somewhere in shallow waters.

"HOLY HELL!" Someone blurts out in astonishment somewhere behind you, causing you to turn and pull the curtain of soaking wet hair out of your face. Much to your bewilderment, Flowey the flower stares back from the damp craggy rocks of wherever the hell you are, looking up from what appears to be a tattered plastic bag with fast food loaded inside of it. Staring back at you, you're a bit amused by the sight of fries sticking out of the petrified flower's mouth- that is, until you remember you have no idea where you are.

You swing back around from Flowey, pushing the heavy weight of your locks to one side wringing water from it, using the moment to look around and get a grasp on your surroundings.

It isn't until you take those few moments to take in the dome shaped cavern and the shallow waters at the back of the cove, the waters you're currently standing up from, that you realize it's the same cove you love to swim out to when you want to be alone for a while.

The sound of gentle waves and light drizzling outside of the cove make you release the tension in your body, as if the presence of more water inherently puts your soul at ease.

So... You're at the cove a ways away from the piers of the city. 

... _How did I get here?_  You wonder, reaching up to scratch your head as a puzzled frown grows across your face.

Flowey clears his throat behind you, causing you to direct your attention back to him and watch as he pushes the bag of fast food towards you.

"I think you should have the rest, considering you've been under there for six days straight," Flowey says carefully, eyeing your features when your expression shifts into a gape of disbelief.

Confused by his words, you reach into your ears and wiggle your fingers to make sure water isn't clogged within them. After visibly shaking a good few trickles of water from each ear, you sign for Flowey to repeat himself. Which he does, with disturbing eagerness.

"I said you should have the rest. Because you've been under the water for six days straight. With nothing to eat... For six days," Flowey states with a straight face, prompting you to give him a suspicious leer in response to the fact that he's clearly trying to get a spastic reaction out of you. 

At first, you just glare, but moments later-

_"SIX **DAYS?!"**_  You shriek with horror, hearing the ocean outside batter against the cove with a little more forcefulness. Before you can continue to panic, a vine snaps out in the direction of your mouth. Just as you're about to blurt out something uncouth, you're stunned to find a burger between your teeth instead. 

The taste... Normally you don't eat fast food. You like your own cooked meals better than anything you can buy from a drive-thru window. In that moment however, the taste of sauces and meat hit your deprived tongue like water upon the chapped lips of a man in the desert. Any more arguments with Flowey fades into the back of your mind, giving space to a ravenous hunger for the burger Flowey has literally shoved into your face.

You grab hold of the meal and dig in, crouching into the water so you're chest deep with the burger protectively in your grip. Bite after bite, you ingest what feels like literal digestible heaven, ignoring any logical snide comments that tell you this won't sit well in your belly later.

All you really know at this point, is that the burger needs more salt.

As you lick the lingering  _Thousand Island_  sauce from your fingers, you let your eyes flick back to a smug looking gold flower that's popped up closer to the edge of the shallow water within the cove. 

"Where did you even get that?" You ask once you've finished, cleaning your hands with the water, eyeing the smugly quiet flower intently when you notice something about him. Most of the brown dry parts of his stem and leaves have recovered to a vibrant green color, making you reach out- and stop.

Your arm...

You bring your hand back and gawk at the sheer lack of blemishes and few pimples, which had been present for most of your life following middle school. They were always embarrassing, especially the pimples and lighter or darker colored spots. Now... Now there was only healthy skin with _zero_ pimples or blemishes.

_What the hell?_ You wonder, giving Flowey an inquisitive look after a quick diagnosis of you other arm.

"What? Don't look at me. I'm healthier because of _sunlight._  The top of this cove is perfect for converting sunlight for photosynthesis. In your case, I can only guess it was the water that's fixed you up." A rotten grin forms over his face as he side glances towards you. "Shame it can't fix that face of yours though."

You kick water up at the flower as you stand back up, rolling your eyes and checking the state of your clothing.

Your sports bra is in tatters, but still holds regardless, despite all the saturated salt water that's been absorbed inside of it. Your leggings are more or less in the same state, and with a quick check in your bra, you pull out the shattered mess of the glass orb and the thin fabric stuffed inside of it. A quick dusting of the broken glass clears most of it, but you still check to make sure the thin fabric is undamaged.

Even with all the salt water it has likely absorbed outside of the broken orb, it looks as good as it had when you found it. In fact... It appears to be waterproof as well.

You move to throw it over your shoulders and tie it off at the front, only to decide against it and tying it around your neck like a bandanna instead after a quick folding and adjustment.

"Need a recap?" Flowey asks with a bright grin that promises only misery.

"...Somehow, I get the feeling you'd tell me even if I said no- but yes, give me a recap," you reply reluctantly, watching the Flowey snicker to himself.

"Well... You remember we met those boys Alan and Clayton after our trip out of Mt. Ebott?" At this, you nod to Flowey. Yeah, you remember that much- they invited you into their home (well, mostly Alan) and offered to clean the burns on your hands before driving you back home. After that, you draw only blanks. "They tried to kill you because their dog said you smelled like a witch, and you ended up jumping off a cliff and going _splat_ on a rock at the bottom."

You blink impassively at the flower, who waits with yet another expectant and innocent smile.

...

Before you can shout again like before, the memories flood in. With them, you duck back into the water quietly as you replay all the events prior to your jump. Flowey's smile fades into something akin to confusion, before settling on something a bit somber in comparison to how healthy and smiley he'd been to begin with. How his expression seems to change points to the presence of emotion he claims he doesn't have, but you don't bother to point it out at the moment.

Your chest throbs at the memory of Alan's cold gaze when Flowey tried to aid you in their loft. The moment he came to the conclusion that you were a witch and steeled himself to help Clayton in your murder.

For a moment, you wait for the horrible little voice in the back of your mind to plague you with insults- telling you it's all your fault that everything's happened to lead up to your misery. It always does that, enough that you've come to expect it nearly every time that you make a mistake.

...

...

Nothing.

You splash water against your face and rub your fingers at your temples to relieve you of your hurt, but it doesn't fade. There may not be a voice telling you it's your fault this time, but you sure as hell feel like there should be.

_Whatever_ , you decide after another moment of no appearance from the devil over your shoulder. Instead, you look up towards Flowey's hardened expression of contemplation.

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure everyone thinks you're dead, by the way," Flowey speaks up, his tone no longer lighthearted or joking in any way. As he lifts his beady black eyes to meet yours, you shift closer to rest your arms along the rocks above the shallow water of the cove. "I've been snatching food and water from that one fast food joint at the end of Pier 5 to keep myself going in the mean time, but I could go for a home cooked meal right about now. I'm sick of the nasty sludge burgers they offer."

You bite your lip. "What do we do about me being dead though? Everyone's gonna freak out if I suddenly just waltz back up there having risen from the dead," you reason, earning a nod from the flower.

"Yes, that's true. Or we could just stay here, I guess... Live off of sludge burgers and dry potato sticks like the garbage we are. Yeah, I can see how staying here would be better than rolling with the punches of being proclaimed dead. Who needs a stove when you can steal grub?" Flowey deadpans sarcastically, watching as you suddenly let out a snort that makes him raise a brow ridge. Flowey wrinkles the area his nose would be if he had one. "What?"

"Nothing," you snicker, reaching up to rub water as it trickles down from your hairline into your eye. Flowey gives you a strange look.

"...You're awfully upbeat for being such prickly person, you know? Sheesh. I'm starting to think you hit your head a bit too hard, you're beginning to remind me of that little brat, Frisk," Flowey remarks, prompting you to roll your eyes in response.

You stand up from the water, this time moving to step out entirely. To your immense relief, there is not a single sign of what you went through six days ago, and you move easily with no hesitation nor any odd pains in your limbs. Even the arm and leg you are sure you shattered are functioning perfectly. 

_Well, there's no arguing that I have_ some _kind of magic... But maybe it's only got to do with healing myself? I can't do anything else with it, or it would have already made itself known, right?_

"Do you think I can do anything else?" You ask Flowey, who's studying you intently as you crouch down to his level. "Besides just heal myself in water?"

Flowey looks indignant for a moment. "Just because _I_ can use magic at will, doesn't mean I'm all-knowing on the subject. Go ask Mom- I mean, _Toriel._  She's better at that stuff than I am," Flowey huffs, prompting you stare down at your hands before offering your arm to the gold flower. For a second, Flowey stares at your hand with distaste. After a moment, he exhales and grumbles a few insults as if reluctant. The grin playing at the corner of his lips gives his true feelings away though, and you can't help but grin yourself.

Alan and Clayton tried to kill you...

Fine. You're not going to deal with them anymore. And you sure as hell won't give them another chance to kill you  _this_ time.

"I can hold my breath for around fifteen minutes, ok? So if we're taking a bit longer... Pop up to the surface for a minute or two for me," Flowey says, making you nod in understanding.

"Alright... But I'm still really curious how _you_ managed to swim to Pier 5 and drag food all the way back here. I mean... You're a flower," you say, walking towards the mouth of the cove and dipping a foot into the welcoming vast waters that lead out to the sea. The way the mouth of the cove faces is the complete opposite direction of the city piers, so you'll have to round the cavern to get back. Luckily, it's day time, and you'll have no navigation problems whatsoever with the sun to help you out.

"Well-" You duck into the water, dunking Flowey momentarily before he can continue speaking. Once you've gotten into a rhythm of using one arm and both legs to swim at the surface, you lift your free arm back up. Flowey's petals droop with the weight of water collected on him, expression dry and moody when you glance his way. A few bubbles from giggling with your mouth and nose under the surface prompt him to shake off the sea water. "As I was _saying,_ I just got a little creative with my vines... I lassoed one of those fatty brown sea dogs around your bay and made it swim me over."

"'Brown fatty sea dogs'?" You lift your mouth over the water to question in obvious confusion. Flowey nods, as if you should know exactly what he's talking about.

"Yeah. They sure as hell _bark_ like dogs," Flowey states, before it finally hits you.

"Oh, you mean the _sea lions_! We have a ton of those here, but they're pretty aggressive... How the hell did you manage to lasso one?" You ask with astonishment, watching Flowey puff up his stem with pride.

"I established my dominance is how. Easy as pie!" Flowey exclaims proudly, enough for you to grin and fall silent as you continue the long swim back home.

Reasonably, you don't walk the main roads or streets back to your place after you reach the pier and climb back up to civilization, choosing to traverse the alleys where you're less likely to happen upon someone. If you do, their intentions might not be good, but at least you have Flowey at your side in case something goes awry. He tried to kill you before, but he's saved your neck several times now- hell, the flower even waited six days straight for you to _wake up._  He could have just left if he wanted to, especially with that trick on the sea lions he claims to have perfected.

Honestly, just imagining Flowey riding a sea lion like a horse makes you crack up a little every now and then- it's downright _ridiculous_. 

Either way though, it's not hard to question where he stands in this entire mess. Normally, you'd insist that this is another bad relationship waiting to blow up in your face... Yet for some reason, it doesn't feel that way. It's not like Flowey is pretending to be nice or anything. Hell, he keeps insulting you at ever opportune moment, like when he pointed one of his leaves to this ugly graffiti art of a dude with a uni-brow and red high-as-a-kite eyes, whispering to you, "Hey, look! Someone made a portrait of you."

You were surprised to discover just how fast that flower could move to avoid a swat in the back of his head.

By the time you've made it back to your street and are walking the civilian streets once more, you're no longer all that self conscious of the stares people give you for your tattered outfit and damp state. Much to your surprise, you feel better than you have in ages, and not even their curious gazes manage to irritate you, like they would have before your jump.

Any inhibitions and worries seem to have washed away with your wounds in the ocean water.

You walk the rest of the way until yours and Libby's home, walking up the driveway towards the front door. A quick check of the new door knob and you groan loudly when you find it pop open with ease. Libby has the tendency to forget to lock the house whenever she leaves, figures she'd continue the trend after you "died".

"I wonder if she even thinks I'm 'dead'- this girl didn't call the police the last two times I went missing. I could have been dead _before_ and she'd have just been sitting here like a vegetable waiting for the news," you comment with a snort of irritation as you push open the door to the loud meowing screeches of the damned. Whether or not the kitten has eaten, you shut the door behind you and automatically head towards the kitchen like it's second nature.

As you swing open the cabinet under the sink, you're shocked to find a bag of cat food lazily tossed in, swarmed with ants upon every inch of it. You make a face, one mirrored by Flowey when he leans in to see what's caused your expression.

"YUCK! Don't tell me you're gonna feed it _that!"_  Flowey comments, looking just as disgusted when you close the door and lift the kitten before it can run in and check to see the mess.

"No _way._ Normally I keep the cat food in a separate plastic container so the ants _don't_ go for it. Libby doesn't know how to take care of animals..." You say, glancing towards the plate of cat food nearby that's chock full of a far too generous portion for a kitten Brownie's size... and more ants. "Shit, I think she think's I'm dead."

Flowey eyes you curiously after glaring at the nasty cat food even the kitten refuses to devour. "What makes you say that?"

A quick scan of the house- the disorganized, _dirty,_ house- says it all to you. This is not how the Libby you know functions. Libby likes everything in perfect order. Not a single thing is to be out of place, or else she goes haywire. The fact that there's this huge mess around makes you swallow thickly, and as you pass by Libby's closed bedroom door, you're startled to have the most awful stench you've ever smelt in your life slap you in the face. God, it smells like something _died_ in there!

"Libby has obsessive compulsive disorder. She can't handle a mess like _this._  The Libby _I_ know would have a hernia if she saw the place like this! Hell, her room would _never_ smell like that!" You explain as you gesture towards the rest of the house, keeping Brownie from successfully squirming out of your grip.

"Hm," Flowey hums in understanding, turning to look towards the bedrooms as he wriggles out of your hair and onto the ground. Like it doesn't even matter, his roots sink into the tile and floorboards, shifting the space of the objects to make room for himself. Midst your gawking, Flowey glances back up at you to say something that instead turns into a quiet and amused expression at your attention on his powers.

"How are you doing that?" You ask, bending down and releasing the kitten to peer at Flowey, who shrugs casually. As if thinking the flower to be a toy, Brownie scampers forward and swats at Flowey from a small distance, prompting Flowey to swat a leaf back- with contact- and hiss in response. The kitten increases the space between them, back arched and head cocked as it leers strangely at Flowey. "Be nice, she doesn't know any better."

"Right. Anyways... I'm gonna explore. Can you make something for us to eat?" Flowey inquires, the defensive sharp fanged face he wears quickly shifting into a sweet smile much like the one he wore when he first met you. Before you can answer him, the flower ducks down into the tile, leaving not even a hole in which his stem once protruded from the ground. 

You leer suspiciously at the tile for a moment, but eventually get back up on your feet with a sigh. What the hell, you're hungry too anyways. That "slime burger" wasn't filling in the least- just momentarily gratifying. 

You wrinkle your nose a smidgen when you sniff yourself, immediately making your way to the bathroom and discarding yourself of the tattered clothing around you- save for the fabric on your neck. After a quick wash of the material to make it smell better, you toss it on the counter instead of the floor, where your old clothes lay.

By the time you've exited, Flowey is audibly shuffling through your things in your room. Before, you likely would have cared if someone was going through your things, but now? Now you don't really give a rats ass about it. As a matter of fact, you'd likely care even less if he was going through _Libby's_ room. Libby hasn't been on friendly terms with you, and you have no reason to grovel for her forgiveness. Why you were doing that before is _beyond_ you, but thankfully you've snapped out of that mindset.

Once you're dressed in a casual red tank top with some denim black overall shorts, you're back in the kitchen ready to cook up a storm. Just as you're opening the fridge in search of chicken to chop up, Flowey pops up unexpectedly from the ground just in front of the fridge. You flinch in surprise and then make a face... Until you notice that he looks a little pale.

"What? Flowey, what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?" You ask, raising an eyebrow. 

"Um... I think I know why Libby's bedroom smells so bad now," Flowey explains rather nervously, wringing his leaves together nervously as he flicks his beady eyes towards the room of your sister in question. "And based on that... I think we should get out of here right now."

You sigh in exasperation, adjusting the thin fabric you've tied around your left wrist. He's being over dramatic, whatever it is that's causing the stench is probably rotten food or something... Why's he being so weird about it?

"I'll clean it if it bothers you so much, but in that case, get some vegetables out and start chopping, pretty petals," you sass, leaving the open fridge to march towards Libby's bedroom. "I know it stinks, but it can't be _that_ bad. I'll just toss whatever it is and spray a little air freshener to-"

As you push open Libby's bedroom door, the sight hits you even harder than the quadrupled intensity of the whiff you'd originally caught.

Libby's room is normally the most _organized_ room in the damn house. She has a pristine white bookshelf located along the wall ahead of the entrance, and her huge queen sized bed takes up the center of the room, the headrest against the wall to the opposite of the bookshelf. Along the wall where the door is located is a narrow desk in the same white color propped up along the side with a fancy white computer set up for Libby's personal use. The walls, normally a pastel pink, make the room very soft looking for such a tall blonde like herself.

So... When you walk in, nothing looks _at all_ like you expect it to. In fact, it's far more horrifying than you expect to have ever found _anywhere_ in your life.

The pink of Libby's bedroom walls are covered in strange characters made with a black marker and her windows have been boarded up to prevent light from entering. Her bookshelf, desk and bed are gone- like, she'd tossed them out to make room for the shit that's in the middle of the room instead of her bed.

You don't dare to take another step in, eyeing the ground in the middle of the room where it looks like a very elegantly and precisely drawn mandala has been inked on the floor boards. The writing around the circle and the ink used to draw it appears red and thick, making you question it's material only for a moment. Around the mandala are four dark candles, though none are lit at the moment.

By the time you've dragged your gaze towards the shadows deeper into the room, you make out the silhouette of something _very_ unnatural. Your heart jumps up to your throat as your eyes accustom to the darkness, enough to finally make out the silhouette of a grown man's body. They look fit, the classic movie musculature build you see in Hollywood. It isn't until you reach his head that you realize everything there is... Just  _wrong._  Unfortunately, you still can't make it out just yet. The man doesn't move an inch despite your entry.

_Is this some kind of prank...? Meant for maybe Libby? Or did I actually die and go to hell?_

A clatter at the corner of the room straight ahead from the doorway makes you flinch, and you freeze like ice when you notice something you likely should have seen the moment you opened Libby's bedroom door.

Chained to a loop hammered into the wall behind it is a goat. Just a regular surface goat, not a monster, with a gray coat and proper hooves. 

...And no head.

Momentarily, you stare as if the head will appear in place any second, but it doesn't. Instead, you watch the goat's body walk closer to the silhouette in the shadows, as if not even aware that it's head is missing. All you can see is the horrible tissue and exposed red muscle, the airway in it's cleanly cut neck expanding and spitting red droplets ever now and then as it exhales with difficulty.

Casting a wary glance back at the silhouette in the shadows, not quite sane of mind to slam the door shut and get the hell out of there immediately, you realize you know _exactly_ where the goat's head is.

This is the point in which you slam the door shut and turn away from the offensive stench of what you realize you'd hit the nail on- _death._

"I found this in there, by the way..." Flowey suddenly speaks up from the kitchen, making you stiffly turn around and make your way back to the only sane creature in your house besides the kitten.

As you reach the counter Flowey has jumped up on, there's a thick leather bound book opened to several pages- with strange words along the top of every page in the same freaky characters you'd found on the walls of Libby's room. 

Your stomach drops with disbelief at what you're seeing- at the diabolical shit you'd seen in _Libby's bedroom._

You already know exactly what this means.

"(Name)... I think this is why those guys said you smell like a witch," Flowey starts, while you reach up to run your hands through your shower damp hair.

_No, no, please don't say it...!_  You think. The idea that your friend is just a horrible friend- you could _live_ with that. This though? 

_This?_  

"...It's that you're _living_ with a witch."

You allow yourself to absorb Flowey's words for a moment. Hearing him say it only makes it worse, and the idea of what you've just seen in Libby's room only makes you want to vomit- even with only a stupid slime burger being in there at the moment.

Flowey flips through some pages and uses his leaf to point at the tiny pink stones littered across certain pages, some with more stones than others. The stones are light, not the regular kind you can just pick up off of the ground outside, but underneath the ones Flowey points towards is writing you can read easily. 

Although he only points at the ones with _your_ name under them, your eyes pick up on familiar names of people, exes, friends Libby's introduced in the past. Some names you don't recognize, either because you never met them or you forgot them, but they all beg the same question...

What are the purposes of these stones and why are nearly all of them glowing, save for yours?

"...Holy shit, _Smiley Trashbag_ is on this one!" Flowey blurts out in disbelief, making you lean over to see him pointing to a gem on a page with the same strange inscription you can't read. Next to the gem over his name is a gem over yours. On this page, there's not many gems at all, only five, and out of the five, the only gem without an eerie glow is yours.

All at once, a rush of anger hits you.

You turn away from the book and run to your room with the kitten at your heels, swinging your school bag over your shoulder and grabbing a suitcase from your closet. Most of your things are still in your room, so you quickly grab what you need and shove it all in your suitcase before scooping your kitten up and placing it in a cat carrying case that you prop up over the suitcase. By the time you're back in the main room, holding your breath when you pass Libby's door, you turn towards Flowey.

"Come on, we're leaving. Grab the book too," you growl, watching Flowey collect the infernal leather bound book in his vines and hop onto the top of the cat carrying cage behind you while you collect your car keys.

As you march outside towards your car in the driveway, the sprinklers outside the front yard seem to glitch in their functions, bobbing up from the ground and back down several times with terrible spurts of water. Rather than pay them attention, you open the back seat and toss in your backpack, followed by the suitcase and then the meowing cat carrying case.

You're not heartless, like _hell_ you're about to leave the kitten with... A _witch._

Moving to the passenger seat with the leather book is Flowey, who keeps it propped up at his side as he buckles his tiny form in. You do the same and then start up the car, which to your relief is nearly full on gas. As you back out of your drive way, you don't glance back even _once_ towards the house.

Where you're supposed to go now, you've no idea.

...Well.

Maybe there _is_ one place you can run to. And with some luck... They can give you some advice on how the hell you should approach with this news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAT'S RIGHT, WORD ONLINE, I REWROTE IT!!! YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME BY DELETING HALF OF MY WRITING!!! **MY POWER FAR EXCEEDS YOURS, FOOLISH PROGRAM!!!**
> 
> ...Side note, I'm going on vacation again for a week. I'm leaving Monday for a road trip, but with luck, I'll still be able to update next Saturday :D Fingers crossed, cause I've got so much I want to write for part two of MH's adventure back on land and exactly what led back to her smug return to class on the seventh day x3
> 
> Thanks for always reading~! Even with my horrible upload timing! <3 
> 
> OH OH, AND ALSO, SOMEONE DREW NEW ART FOR BONE APPETIT~! AND IT'S SUPER DUPER-LY CUTE AND FUNNY, LIKE, READER IS A PRECIOUS MONKEY! I love it SO SO MUCH, but for some reason this world hates me and I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO LINK TUMBLR IMAGES HERE SO LK lkjOIP EJ PJROIEW OUR* )(#U(UJ{OJRP# U)(R
> 
> I'll consult a fellow writer on this that I know to fix this travesty. Forgive me for my incompetence, @vanessa286! I've failed you tonight, but I will work to fix this!!! ;^; *sobs* 
> 
> UPDATE: **I FIXED IT~!** YAAASSSSSS! I have done Vanessagirl286 her justice as an artist! ^o^  <3 <3 <3
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> 


	43. Until You Have All the Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liberty Sterling ponders the oddities surrounding your mysterious disappearance, while you head on over to get some answers from a person who you hope won't kill you if they see the witchs' book you're carrying.

 

Chapter 43: Until You Have All the Answers

 

**(6 Days Post Cliffdive)**

Liberty Sterling takes a deep breath from one seat among many on a public bus, the humid air around the city nearly suffocating even with the bus driver confirming the air conditioning to be on. Normally, Liberty asks Elizabeth for a ride on occasions such as the one that she'd be dealing today, despite her outlook on the effects smog has on the environment... However, all she really wants to do lately is be alone. Other than the text regarding the mandatory meeting today and the set location, she hardly answers any calls or texts now.

Not after...

...

"Jeez, they call this shit _air conditioning?_ This thing is like a fucking oven," a voice drawls from two seats to her left, speaking more to them self than to anyone else. At the sound of the rather masculine deep voice, Libby is unable to stop herself from automatically peeking. It's something she'd usually do with a smile on normal circumstances, but following the Sheriff Salazar's call to end the search for both you or a body, she'd hardly been interested in her usual hobbies and leisure activities. The action to look, in this case, was almost robotic this time. As if her body is so used to the cue of a deep, chocolate voice that her muscles automatically move before her brain even registers how inconsequential it is based on the grand scale of things.

_Stupid,_ Liberty thinks to herself, eyes landing on an unfamiliar ash blonde male human with chiseled biceps and a jawline for days. He pulls at the front of a thin blue tee shirt and undershirt, pumping air against the underlying skin. Based on the tan line she can barely make out without shifting to align her gaze better, Liberty makes a dumb observation that he must work outdoors to have such a light colored skin under his shirt. Honestly, she'd have never been able to see his tan line if he hadn't been slouching in such an uncomfortable looking position.

Not that it really matters in the end. Liberty can hardly bring herself to continue allowing her attention to be swallowed by the idea of asking the guy out for a coffee. Had her best friend still been alive right now, she might have asked him, but not anymore. You're dead, and you're not coming back.

Although the media, especially movies, loosely point out that witches can revive people from the dead with witchcraft, it's more of a pipe dream than anything else. Liberty would sooner pluck the sun from the sky than bring you back from the dead- as according to the coven history, no witch has _ever_ brought something back from the afterlife. Attempts to even _consider_ the idea leads a witch to a swift death by the hand of the higher power. Theoretically, it's possible. Allowed though? No. That kind of thing is pushing things way too far... At least based on the higher power's quick reactions to deal with those that he deems too _"curious"_ based on their behavior and actions.  

The higher power looks over the coven. However, that also means that he's _always watching._

Makes trying to get away with a revival spell kind of difficult.

On Liberty's end, she decidedly went with some _other_ type of witchcraft to help her cope. She can't bring you back from the dead without getting herself killed and her soul devoured, but if Hollywood got anything right, it's that witches are renowned for their communications with the dead.

And therein lies the problem that she's been facing since her idea to do her own searching through the voices of the underworld- if only to make sure you aren't dead.

First off, if you were dead, you'd have already answered. Calling a spirit is like placing a piece of metal next to a magnet. It's why during Ouija Sessions, you _must_ say goodbye following the end of a session. Drag a spirit from their regular idle hobbies (whatever they may be, considering they're dead) and they're usually irritated- or _hostile_ if you've aimlessly called a stranger. Curious idiots looking for a thrill or seeking to tease the idea of contacting the dead tend to do that. They slap a board and glass piece down and start asking questions off the bat, taking no precautions and no aim at a specific spirit like they  _ought_ to do. If you don't properly end the session, then they're in a _bigger_ shit storm since you've essentially dragged an unwilling spirit to yourself without their release. Most hauntings are a result of the spirits dragged from the other side without a proper release back into their own world.

Even after attempting to contact you several times, Liberty made no contact with your spirit at all. She even used an excessively powerful assist spell to expand the force of her witchcraft to contact you, using the body of some perverse and surprisingly young pedophile attempting to do questionable things a thirteen year old girl in a lonely area near a middle school south of the Ebott Creek college, and a goat. Taking the man down had been quick with a bit of sleep dust, which Liberty acquired after making a prayer to the higher power asking permission to take a life. She expected either a confirmation in the form of the dust forming out of nothing within the ceremonial wooden bowl given to her by her coven, or a negative by getting nothing, not both the dust _and_ a name being almost... _whispered_ into her mind. Could she really call it a whisper though? It almost felt too intimate- a violation of her mind as if someone had stuck a needle within the grooves of her brain to carve the name there. Following the inquiry, she spend the rest of the night scratching her head incessantly to try and remove the annoying sensation.

Something about the whisper scares Liberty, even days after everything's already been done. No other witch in the coven, besides the High Witch, has _ever_ been spoken to or verbally communicated with the higher power. Not like that, at least. Why the higher power had suddenly decided to talk to her is a complete mystery to Liberty, although she figures it has to do with her being the daughter of the previous High Witch. Someday, she'd have take over the position of High Witch after her mother's best friend (who would eventually become her step mom following her mother's death and her father's licentious urges), but that day is long coming. The higher power disregards all except for the current High Witch. Being the previous High Witch's daughter shouldn't have been enough to garner a response prior to her initiation, especially since the higher power _chose_ her mother's best friend to become the High Witch afterwards. 

Whatever the reason, Liberty tried not to let it bother her too much. If it wants to contact her like she's already the High Witch, she hardly has a choice in the matter. It's the all-knowing higher power, and with it comes authority and control. It can change it's rules whenever it wants to, and although strange in comparison to the rhythm of it's behavior up till then, there's really no reason she should question it at all.

So she won't.

In the end, not even the completion of the bloody and somewhat forbidden (at least by the coven rather than the higher power itself) assist spell setup helped in contacting you, and for a while Liberty took this as relatively _good_ news. Even after the thirteen year old girl ran off with the knowledge of what she saw before Liberty could attempt to wipe the event from her mind. Had she not been so busy rounding the necessary human for her spell, she'd probably have been able to stop her- but Liberty decidedly dismissed chasing the girl down, choosing to focus on the man's fallen form rather than the girl. Even if she told somebody, they likely wouldn't believe her. Hell, she likely wouldn't even be able to give a succinct description, considering Liberty was covered head to toe in a black leather suit and ski mask at the time.

If you weren't around the underworld for her to find, then that meant you _had_ to be alive.

...But if you were alive, why hadn't the cops found you already? Why hadn't you come home yet? Were you unconscious somewhere, close to death? That in itself is a conundrum, as when Liberty tried to reconnect any of the charms she left on you, none had even attempted a glow at all. In Sans' case, following the breakage of the Discord charm and the Pacify charm she'd laid on him, although they refused to connect again, the two at least attempted to with a slight glow. In your case, nothing was happening at all. The only time that happens... Is when the recipient of the charm is dead.

Which in turn means she _should_ be able to contact your spirit, regardless of whether you want to see her or not. _Especially_  with that assist spell actively stinking up her house. 

The rattling of the bus as it pulls into the bus stop at Ebott Creek College jostles Liberty back to reality, only for her to realize the ash blonde guy is staring straight at her with a strange look in his eyes. For a moment, Liberty wonders why he's staring at her like so intensely like that- only to realize the one that's been staring since the beginning of her winding thoughts is herself, prompting her expression to only mildly shift into that of embarrassment. The guy frowns slightly.

"You look like you haven't slept in a million years," he observes bluntly, though by the look on his face, he clearly means no offense at all. Even if Liberty is offended, she can't bring herself to shoot a snarl in his direction, resigning herself to simply sigh and nod. After all, he's not too far off the mark- witchcraft of any kind works ten times better during the night, although it is still a mystery as to why _._ Whether or not it's ever discovered hardly matters to Libby, it's likely just an inconsequential quirk. Never the less, when a person is up every night trying to get shit done with work and school demanding their attention the morning after, a little sleep deprivation tends to happen.

"Yeah... Close enough. Likely caused by stress," Liberty agrees, yawning right on cue. 

The ash blonde nods in understanding, shifting to get on his feet and exit the bus. Before he passes through the doors, he turns to glance back at her once more.

"Unfortunately, I can relate," he states in almost equal passivity. Rather than wait for a response, the blonde jumps to the sidewalk and starts walking towards the buildings within the campus, leaving Liberty to sit there and consider his words momentarily. 

...Idiot. What would a guy like that, normal and blissfully free of witchcraft, know about real stress? The worst stress he's likely faced in his life are a few tough tests and a bad teacher!

_"Whoa... Witchcraft is_ awesome," Elizabeth's previously spoken words float back into Liberty's mind as she waits for the bus to pull away from the college with no new pickups. Her arms cross over her chest as she nails the seat ahead of her with a deadly glare, not focused on anything specific as she waits for the area to possibly catch fire.

_I see now. It's **not**. Halley and (Name) are dead. Mom is dead. My father continues to exalt a creature on the other side of the veil. _ _Just my luck to be born on the worst end of the human spectrum._

_It's not awesome at all._

Liberty ducks her head at an angle, allowing a curtain of blonde locks to hide her expressions from any curious eyes that happen to linger in her direction.

She hates being alone. Especially at times like this, when she's at rock bottom... Too bad you're not at the bottom waiting to catch her like you usually are. Worse yet, you're gone and neither of you fully resolved the falling out between the two of you. There was a few stiffly exchanged words the last time she saw you. You said you'd call if something happened... But did you? No. You vanished instead, leaving not even a single trace for anyone to find your whereabouts or even your body.

Definitely makes things a little frustrating. Even Liberty's father and stepmother sounded rather upset upon the news reaching them, something that Liberty was actually betting they'd be uninterested about despite her best friend being in the family since childhood. It's almost a bittersweet revelation to see that they cared at least a little about you- enough to even set up an in-family funeral for you tomorrow in the afternoon.

Liberty would be wearing the black dress she gave you last year after you expressed how much you liked it, something she'd have had her parents arrange for _you_ to wear- if they'd have recovered a body, at least. Since they didn't, she decided she'd wear it herself to pay her respects to you during the closed casket wake, wherever you may be alive or dead. Regardless...

It's not like she'll stop looking. She refuses to stop until she finds a solid answer, and if she has to spend the rest of her life looking- _by the gods_ \- she damn straight _will_.

* * *

**(6 Days Post Cliffdive)**

"...What a noisy LINT BALL! How do you turn that fuzzy thing off?!" Flowey demands after a good ten plus minutes of incessant pitiful meows coming from the cat carrier in the back seat. He extends his stem back to hiss at the kitten through the metal bars, where it claws at the barred door uselessly in an attempt to get it open. Initially, the kitten falls silent... But moments after Flowey smiles and relaxes in the passenger seat once more, the meows start up again much to his chagrin. "UGGGHHH!"

You shrug sheepishly, though you try not to avert your gaze from the road as you drive.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to deal, Flowey. She's an animal- they don't know any better. Brownie's only doing that because she hates cars _and_ her carrier, which I've just basically slapped together and forced her to deal with. It's not like I can tell her everything's gonna be fine, she doesn't understand like dog monsters do," you explain, hoping your elaborate reasoning will somehow quell the growing frustration building over the golden flower's features.

"WHATEVER!" He spits out loudly, vines and stem extending momentarily and flailing close enough to make your grip on the steering wheel wobble. A half a second later, he pulls himself back together and crosses his leaves to fume and glare at the road ahead once more. "Where are we even going now?!"

You narrow your eyes on the flower in a silent warning, but answer since you don't want his impatience to rise and convert into more anger. Flowey's opened to a page in Libby's spell book covered in pink transparent stones with cracks within it, names scrawled underneath every pressed glowing stone within the leather bound book. It's clear that his anger and frustration is only _minimally_ associated with the kitten, as the sight of the writing on the page beneath him soon causes his expression to twist negatively once more in growing anger.

"We're going to see King Asgore," you answer bluntly, watching Flowey choke and gag on saliva when his gasp cuts halfway. As soon as he's caught a hold of his breathing and cleared his throat, he turns his petals in your direction in disbelief. He's clearly panicking at the idea of seeing his father, but before he can object, you tap the side of your head insinuating your past techniques to get people to dismiss him. "You said there are very little people that know you exist, right? And Asgore is not one of them? Then there should be no problem here. Just hop onto the Human Express and we can waltz in without any problems. Asgore is one of the oldest monsters alive- save for Toriel according to what Alan once told me." 

You wince slightly as his name slips past your lips like butter, making your heart throb and clench at the same time with betrayal and remaining infatuation. Of all the people that could try to get you killed- it _had_ to be him, didn't it?

Life must _really_ hate you...

"If he's actually been around for as long of a time as I assume he has, then he might have some inkling as to what the hell this book says in it," you continue, bringing a hand up to chew on your thumb nail as you slow at a stop light along the street. "Half of me really doesn't want to know, based on whatever shit was going on in her room... But if Alan and Clayton were telling the truth like I think they were, then Libby's dangerous and-"

"-And we should kill her?" Flowey cuts you off to casually input, head turned to stare at you as your entire body becomes stiff as a plank due to his blunt words. You inwardly cringe, however, curling up into yourself just at the thought of picking up a knife and simply raising it in her direction. No- murder is not the answer _at all._

You shake your head quietly yet firmly. Flowey visibly frowns from the corner of you eye midst your efforts to refrain from making eye contact with him. 

"And if she tries to kill you? You gonna _let_ her? Tch. You're just like that small idiot used to be. They didn't want to hurt anyone at first either... Well, things tend to change when the situation calls for it. You should have seen them after their first time with Toriel, it was pretty embarrassing how long it took them to-"

The light turns green and after a beat of a second, the car behind you honks to get you moving, effectively startling you into hitting the gas pedal a bit too hard as well as shutting Flowey right up. His beady eyes are wide with shock and disbelief, as if he himself hadn't expected to reveal whatever it is he just basically said to you. Essentially, taking his words apart bit by bit... It almost sounds as if he just revealed Frisk to have hurt- or even  _killed-_ Toriel. Except... That makes no absolute sense, because Toriel is extremely alive and kicking right now with Frisk at her side. Not to mention that Flowey stated it to have been something that happened in the past, based on his past tense explanation. What the hell is he talking about? You really don't know, but pushing him to tell you will likely only get him angrier than he already is with the illegible script within the spell book that he can't read. If you're smart, you'll wait for him to spill the beans himself. He did it with the whole 'Asriel' thing, telling you the story of how he and his sibling died- the children of King Asgore and Toriel. Sure, there's still a few things he needs to tell you, but... All in due time.

...Or maybe you're stalling for selfish reasons since it really sounds like Frisk has _hurt_   _somebody,_ and you're not sure you can handle anymore unpleasant surprises after Alan turned out to be a mage that executes witches and Libby has turned out to be a murderous witch that hexes other people.

_Ask him. You can't avoid this- and you damn straight **know** it._ 

You bite your lip nervously as you toy with the idea of asking, but eventually you just relax and settle into the silence. When did you become so scared of asking things and finding the truth? You didn't hesitate asking Sans why he disliked you and hated you before... You didn't even blink when talking about Gaster, the melting being, to Undyne and Papyrus in search for answers as to why "melting" made the two monsters so uncomfortable. At this rate, you're going to start clamming up every time something important comes up.

_Gaster..._

Not someone you wanted to start thinking about again. They put you in a dangerous situation- and you _still_ don't know why. 

You finger the thin fabric tied around your neck like a bandanna absentmindedly. Since leaving the house, you've considered trying to contact Gaster once more to ask if maybe they have any answers about the fabric or the creature that had disappeared chasing you... Or maybe why out of all people, _you_ seem to be the only one that can hear him. Does it have to do with you having magic? Somehow that idea doesn't match up very well- there are plenty of monsters around. And human-wise, if that's got to do with it, Alan and Clayton both are mages with magic. Clayton appears to have some kind of muscle controlling magic of the sorts, and Alan is like Flowey with his plant magic- although it's not limited to vines like it is with the golden flower in the passenger seat. What is it that separates you from them? You're not a witch, that much you know now based on what you heard Clayton spouting before at the loft. You have many questions _about_ witches, but none of them have to do with you questioning if you're one yourself, since you don't _murder_ people and you have _never_ performed any kind of "hex" on a person before. How does one even go about witchcraft anyways? Do you just... Buy a witch book and go crazy? 

As a child, you recall some girls at school playing a weird pencil game called "Charlie, Charlie", as well as "Bloody Mary" in the bathroom,  but those are just gimmicky kinds of games that usually have no outcome as far as the paranormal goes. Witchcraft has been as fake as the "Blair Witch Project" to you since _forever._  Other than those two aforementioned games, you know next to nothing about the context of witchcraft, and as far as you're concerned, "Charlie, Charlie" and "Bloody Mary" probably have nothing to do with witchcraft either! How would you know though? It's a mystery.

Your eyes flick back towards the book in Flowey's lap, which he has returned to investigate fruitlessly once more. 

_Hopefully King Asgore might have some answer for you..._

Due to your aimless speculation, you don't even realize you're driving through the dirt path towards Asgore's place until you snap out of your musings to find the trees and bushes surrounding you. The smell of pine fills your nose as you continue to drive, praying that you're actually on the right road towards Asgore's home. After a good few minutes of driving filled with meows, Flowey audibly shuts the spell book and unlatches his seat belt with a sigh, vines already wrapping around your right arm as he crawls up to your hair and settles around the crown of your head comfortably, head hovering just next to yours.

"Well, I guess I'm as ready as ever to see him again..." Flowey huffs uncertainly, just as the car finally breaks through the trees into a nice clearing of gold flowers and a dirt path leading up to a relatively large house in the middle of everything. You drive carefully up to the van by the side of the house and throw the car in park, unlatching your seat belt immediately and scooping up the horrible spell book in the seat beside you. You're not about to leave the kitten in the car either, and with surefire movements, you yank out the cat carrier from the back seat and lock the car behind you.

Your steps towards the front door are firm and unhesitating- up until you're standing right in front of the door with both hands occupied. Momentarily, you're almost relieved by the fact that you don't need to immediately knock- but Flowey squashes your relief by using a vine to knock on the door for you. While it's very considerate, you're momentarily horrified enough to freeze up when the front door swings open unexpectedly, Flowey already settled back in your hair motionlessly with his petals closed up over his face to masquerade as a strange rose or tulip.

To your immediate surprise, you flinch at the sight of the small kid that stares up at you wordlessly with little to no exchange in their expression. For a long minute or two, the two of you quietly stare at one another, both waiting for the other to make some kind of reaction as the two of you stand there like statues frozen in time. Eventually, Frisk straight up drops the glass of water you hadn't even noticed them carrying in their right hand, allowing it to shatter into pieces around their feet with little to no movement on their part despite the disturbance in the silence.

Following the loud shattering, you can already hear two sets of feet flying down the stairs to see what's happened. Your heart accelerates despite knowing it's likely only friends, however the thought of having to explain this entire mess screws with your systems as you swallow down your nerves and mentally prepare yourself to answer whatever they'll ask you when they finally-

King Asgore and Queen Toriel appear behind Frisk within a second, causing your entire spine to straighten out like a wooden plank in terror. Why are you so scared? Probably because you're absolutely sure that they're gonna mistake you for an impostor and you're gonna have another near death experience... Or worse, you'll actually _die_ this time. Considering that these two are pretty much Flowey's ( _Asriel's)_ parents, you don't expect that Flowey will actively fight back for you much. The most you expect from him would be to get you out of there, but you're not ignorant regarding how powerful Boss Monsters like Toriel and Asgore are likely to be. Would the two of you even be able to escape if the two decided they wanted nothing to do with a girl risen from the dead?

You watch with a stupid expression of anxious indecision as Asgore's and Toriel's expressions respectively shift to that of blank confusion- matching well with the expressions already pasted to both your own face as well as Frisk's. Hell, you're almost expecting a tumbleweed to blow across the front porch from between where you stand across from Frisk and the Dreemurrs. 

Following one of the most nerve wracking moments of your entire life, a long and sad meow pierces the silence once more, finally snapping you out of your state to glance down at the carrier and then at the book in your other arm.

"Um... I survived and I have a lot of questions that probably can't be answered by anyone else but you guys," you manage to spill from your mouth, keeping your first words succinct since the three before you are likely to be in a lot of shock at the sight of you. Considering their unwavering expressions, that seems to be correct enough, and you shift your legs nervously. "I-if this is too weird for you, I totally understand though! I mean, I can leave. I just... I woke up a few hours ago and I don't know where to go or..."

You shrink back at the continued stares from the three of them, only to notice how Asgore's and Toriel's gazes drag down slowly to the leather bound book in your right arm. Their scarlet eyes narrow dangerously, but you don't say anything. Lip service will hardly do much to change their assumptions- but if they agree to let you in to get some answers and take a look at it themselves, maybe they'll figure out it's not yours once they see the hexes with your name under them. After all, there are no hexes that Libby's placed on herself... 

"...Child, would you please hand me that book you have there?" Toriel inquires first, her voice heavily guarded as she pushes forward and lifts Frisk from where they stand at the doorway, turning only halfway to hand them to Asgore. Midst her movements, Toriel does not move her gaze from you, and it isn't until she's fully facing you that she reaches for the book- which you hand to her with no hesitation. Much to your mild relief, you notice that she's visibly surprised by this action. Her guard drops slightly, and she opens the book to take a peek at a few pages within it.

Glancing behind Toriel, you can see Asgore nervously looking at the back of Toriel's head, as if trying to gauge her feelings and thoughts on the book you have. It's a huge relief that Toriel appears to be worried about the book you brought. Why? Because it means she knows _something._  Something that would cause her to worry, sure, but you can practically smell the answer from where you stand with Brownie's cat carrier. Once again, another meow fills the silence as Toriel flips through a few more pages of Libby's book with a frown of bemusement.

...

By the time Toriel closes the book, she reaches out and takes your hand with a breath of relief, yanking you into the house past the broken glass and closing the door behind you and the cat carrier. In swift movements, your cat carrier vanishes from your grip and two pairs of strong arms are wrapping tightly around you- enough to make you flinch before you register that it's only Toriel embracing you. You suck in air in surprise, but within moments, you relax in her arms and wrap your own arms around her uncertainly. She only met you once, why is she hugging you like this...?

Your anxiety skyrockets when you wonder if this is maybe a trick to get your guard down so Asgore can maybe attack you from the back. Your spine tenses and you tremble in Toriel's hug despite the other half of your brain attempting to assure you that nothing as horrible as that is about to happen. As if noticing your returned anxiety, Toriel pulls back from the hug, the spell book still in her hand as she gives your body a quick motherly once over. Whatever she's looking for, it doesn't appear she finds it since she looks back up at your face with an expression of clear confusion, disbelief, and behind that- relief.

"My child... How are you _alive?"_  She finally asks the question you're sure _everyone_ is thinking, making you shiver a little and reach up to play with the fabric around your neck absentmindedly, tucking your lips slightly under the fabric to conceal your grimace as you talk.

"...The water," you mumble uncertainly, hoping neither of the monsters will scream "witch" and attack you now that you're actually _telling_ someone about your freaky ability. You can't think of a better way to talk about it, so you rush to get it out in the open before you can lose your confidence. "I... If I get hurt and submerge myself in water, my injuries will heal up on their own. When I fell and hit the bottom, the ocean water dealt with the aftermath. I guess it took a little longer than I originally thought it would."

King Asgore finally speaks up, moving to stand next to Toriel. "What do you mean by 'originally thought'? Are you informing us that you _jumped_ with the notion that the ocean water would heal you at the bottom if something happened to...?" He asks, appearing to grow aggravated by the second. You hurry to answer.

"Th-there was nothing else I could do at the moment! Sans and Undyne were the only ones there and both of them couldn't do _anything_ \- I thought that if I was killed at the top of the cliff, I would have _absolutely_ no chance getting back. If I jumped... There was at least water at the bottom to fix me," you answer honestly, relieved to see Asgore visibly relaxing despite the tightness of his jaw at your words. He doesn't like it, that much is obvious, but at least he doesn't think you just hurled yourself off a cliff mindlessly with no reason...  

Toriel takes your hand again and pulls you towards the dining room table with the book in her hands, setting the infernal leather thing on the table top. "We will need to have Alphys analyze your soul in that case... Just so we know if your magic will increase from its current level. Is there anything else that you are able to do, my child?" She asks, pushing you into one of the seats gently as she takes a seat beside you. Asgore and Frisk take the seats across from the two of you, listening intently as you nod.

"Well, I've noticed that I can stay under the water for a really long time, I think. _Days_ if I want to. That's about it though, as far as weird things go. I can't do anything else," you state, still playing with the fabric nervously as you spare a glance towards Asgore and Frisk to gauge their reactions.

"Mm-hm... Alright then. There is one more thing I would like you to explain, but that can wait for now. Frisk, are you ready to head to the market?" Toriel inquires, turning towards the kid across from her seat, who looks indignant at the fact that they _just_ sat down to listen to your side of the story revolving around your mysterious return to the world of the living... Or at least your story on how you _nearly_ left the world of the living, but not quite since Flowey decided to be considerate and took care of you while you healed.

You owe that flower a lot for what he's done, and for only one long indeterminable amount of time in the timeless zone, he's gone above and beyond overruling his murderous behavior at the beginning. Although... You have to wonder what is it about you that made the flower deem you worthy of his time. It's a bit obvious that he's been keeping something from you since the two of you were in the Underground, but whatever it may be, he hasn't opened his mouth to let you in on it. As a result, you decidedly choose to continue getting your answers from him by respecting his boundaries and waiting until he's comfortable enough to say what he needs to say.

Regarding Frisk once more, you have this inkling that Toriel is taking Frisk out to keep them from hearing about witchcraft (assuming you're on the mark that the two boss monsters knows what it is), and the look on the kid's face as she dismisses the book so quickly shifts to something akin to disbelief and annoyance. The kid appears to be thinking rather hard about what Toriel's said, like they're taking apart her words and getting the underlying meaning and reasoning for them. Once the kid seems to figure out what she's trying to do, they turn to look away from Toriel towards you instead.

You try not to fidget at all when you notice their gaze travel up to the flower in your hair, which doesn't move even an inch as it holds your hair back in a ponytail. Considering what Flowey has told you, Frisk is aware of his existence, but you're not sure if they'd be able to distinguish the flower in your hair to be Flowey lest he moves. Following a good few minutes of Frisk's unwavering and heavy gaze, they eventually turn away to look at Toriel pointedly. They look as if they're letting her know that they know _exactly_ what she's trying to do.

"Come on, my child, we need to purchase food now that we have a guest. It would be ill mannered not to feed her after she's been gone for so long. We will get more answers after we return, alright?" Toriel coaxes Frisk, who crosses their arms and stares her down until they finally sigh in resignation, sliding off of their seat to follow Toriel to the living room and put on their shoes. In this time, Toriel takes a moment to use a mop and push the broken glass out of the way in the meantime, giving Asgore a meaningful look just as she walks out the door and allows it to shut behind her.

It isn't until the lock turns that another paranoid thought manages to worm its way into your head. 

_What if she left so Asgore could get rid of you without scaring Frisk?_

"There's no need to be nervous, (Name). We can take this slowly, I won't make any assumptions until you've told me everything," King Asgore says as he comes around the table to take Toriel's old seat. You straighten up, but notice the effect that his words have immediately when a wave of calm ripples across your entire body. You take a deep breath and nod, watching as he reaches to open the leather book to the first page. "I assume you're aware of what type of book this is?"

"Um... Not exactly. It's not mine..." You respond, noting how you no longer feel the need to toy with the fabric around your neck. "I think it's my sister's. I only have an inkling of what it does, and most of it is based on basic Hollywood movie assumptions."

King Asgore nods in understanding, before sitting back in his seat and folding his hands over the table seriously. You can already tell this is going to be a long talk, so you relax and allow your back to hit the chair comfortably. His fingers fidget a bit as he visibly considers how to tackle the subject, before nodding to himself in thought and taking a deep breath to steel himself. Although you're relatively relaxed now that it's just you and Asgore, you still feel a slight twinge of nervousness when you register that this talk won't just be long, but a  _heavy topic_  as well.

"Alright. I'll tell you as much as I know of this crude excuse for magic, but... This is going to get into some very serious material. Are you prepared to have the outlook of your sister completely stripped away to reveal her rotten core beneath the girl you think you know?" King Asgore inquires with a serious leer, eyeing you carefully when you nod immediately. Honestly, it's more of a robotic movement, and you regret not hesitating to think it over as you replay his words a few times in your head. "Very Well... Let me prepare us some tea for the conversation ahead of us then. I believe it will help alleviate some of the stress for the both of us."

You swallow thickly when Asgore stands and moves to the kitchen stove top, forming fire under the kettle for a few seconds until you can hear the whistling of steam as it reaches maximum heat. As he stops to gather two mugs, your heart prepares to jump right out of your rib cage and make a run from the truth. Rather than follow it, you sit there quietly and take a deep breath when your nerves threaten to spike, watching the monster king pour the piping hot water into the two mugs with tea bag chambers of golden flower tea already placed within it.

_I need to hear this_ , you convince yourself despite your anxiety, refraining from standing as you watch the Monster King carefully bring the mugs back and take the seat beside you.

You're likely going to resent Libby forever for turning out to be a witch- for pretending to be a nice person under a cheery and bubbly facade- and it utterly terrifies you that you don't know at what point in her life she could have started to involve herself in witchcraft. When you play back a few innocent memories of the childhood you've shared with her up until that moment, everything seems completely normal. She's never really gone places without telling you where she'd be, she's never acted suspiciously in the past or looked to be hiding anything. Whatever day she so happened to start practicing witchcraft, you aren't privy to it. The fact that she so easily pulled the wool over your eyes unsettles you, but you try to focus on Asgore now that you're getting a proper explanation from somebody that is likely _not_ going to make you fall off a cliff.

Your mind attempts to drift towards Alan and his place in this mess of things, but you hastily squash the mage from your mind. He didn't do anything to stop Clayton. He gave up defending you and chose to follow his cousin instead of getting the truth.

_The evidence was stacked against your truth- They would never believe you over the hard proof they scraped up. If Libby didn't live with you, you wouldn't have been in that situation. You wouldn't have had to throw yourself off of a cliff and face your worst fear just for the off chance of survival. Based on Flowey's recap, you probably would have_ really _died if he hadn't been around to peel your broken body off the rock and into water._

Before you even notice what you're doing, your fingers have lifted to brush against the tips of Flowey's closed petals, making the tip of a vine behind your neck gently wriggle in response.

"(Name)," you refocus your attention on Asgore again, giving him your undivided attention. "To start, Witchcraft is not like the magic you or I have. Our magic is an extension of the essence that makes up our souls, materializing outside of our bodies in a variety of different ways depending on the soul. No two souls can produce the same magic- even Toriel and I have differences in how we manipulate our fire magic despite how similar they may seem. I assume you are aware of how different Papyrus' magic is to Sans' magic, correct? Well, deep inside, the source of our magic is the same. They originate from our souls."

Asgore pauses to take a sip of his tea, prompting you to follow since you don't want to just sit there staring at him as he drinks. After all, you also don't want the tea to go to waste, considering it's hand made and _very_ good. You nearly burn your tongue on the drink, but hide most of your discomfort by halting any changes in your expression.

"Witchcraft does not come from the soul. Monsters cannot become witches, as the coven ranks are solely made up of humans longing for magic they were not given the ability to use. In it's core, the craft is a set of rules and regulations from a higher power that every witch is bound into following whether they want to or not. There is no leaving a coven- as the consequences of cutting ties breaks all rules and leads to a swift death by the high one. They do not have permission to harm others unless given by the high witch, who is the voice of the higher power. Most of their danger comes in their number and what they do to those they are commanded to harm by the higher power. In return for a coven's cooperation, the prize to the assisting coven are spell books such as this one, riches, fame, sex... Whatever the witch wants, actually. They are a danger to those around them and a danger to themselves the moment they are initiated or invited into a coven. Their victims face the worst fate, however. During my time above the surface in the past, I was forced to stop many gatherings attempting to feed the higher power helpless souls. What would happen if the high one ate enough souls... Even I myself am not sure what would happen. I hardly even know what it wants based on it's actions, other than to cause ruin in the hearts of those around it."

You momentarily wonder what Libby could have wanted to have join a legitimate coven for, and feel the contents in your belly flip nervously when you find no clear answer.

You have no idea what she would want. She had everything since birth... Money has been around her family for a long time- she's got no desire for that and has never vocalized anything regarding the need for more money. Fame? She doesn't idolize people as far as you know, and you've never seen her to try and get in the spotlight. In fact, she's more likely to shy _away_ from it.

_What could she have possibly wanted?_  You think over and over again, well aware of the expression of concern scrawled across your face. A bit of a burn on your tongue- an easy feeling to hide since it physical and only momentarily surprising. The thought of not understanding why Libby would do something like this... Like whatever she did inside her _room?_ You can't hide how scared for her you are, how _angry_ you are at her for what she's gotten herself into. This isn't like the party and drinking incidents during high school- this is _way worse._

Caring about it only makes it hurt even more, but you can hardly bring yourself to feel indifferent. She's not a person you met only a year ago, she's been there your entire life. She's  _literally_ your sister, not by blood, but by your bond with her.

How could you _not_ care?

"Witchcraft, according to what I was taught when I was in my prime, exists to tempt those foolish and greedy for power at their own expense. No one knows where it truly originated from, even those within their ranks. Admittedly, it's origin far exceeds that of my own existence. Millennias, I suspect," Asgore continues, settling his scarlet eyes down at his mug rather than on you. "If... If this book truly belongs to your sister... I'm afraid there is no current way we could possibly save her. Even extracting her forcibly against her will likely would anger their higher power enough to simply kill her then and there. It tends to kill those no longer useful or ostracized by their own coven. Money has always been one of their main symbols of status within the coven, and I recall quite well the rumors of how a loss of money spelled a surefire death among the witches."

_Losing all their money might cause the higher power to kill a witch... That's a very strange standard. Although I guess it might be a way of testing willpower and order, rather than recklessly spending all the money in one place, like Halley did with her gambling._

"I was sure the practice of witchcraft had surely died out when we reemerged from the Underground, but it seems as if I made a mistake in that assumption..." King Asgore says out loud, though it appears he's talking to himself more than he's talking to you this time.

It isn't until your mind drifts to the memory of Halley that dots suddenly start connecting in your head, making you fumble with the mug in your hands momentarily as you register what you've just thought and start applying ideas to Halley's situation and words she'd been sobbing upon bursting into your house. At the time, the fact that she had managed to break down the door was just ridiculous, but you dismissed it as her just being surprisingly brutish. And then the way she'd been crying over losing all her money...!

"Oh. Oh my god," you speak up, making Asgore raise his scarlet eyes to meet yours with guarded concern as you jump to your feet when you realize just how much _sense_ it suddenly makes.

And then the sound of a door being kicked down makes your heart skip a beat, drawing both yours and Asgore's attention towards the front door as you clutch your mug of tea in your hands. It's still piping hot, dropping it would _not_ be in your best interest.

When you see the two who are standing at the doorway, your grip on the mug loosens anyways, sending the searing liquid all over you as your eyes make contact with one wide eyed Alan Barrett, and an equally as flabbergasted looking Papyrus. Much to your surprise, you hardly feel the steaming burn, and take the moment of dead silence following the shattering of your mug to check it down on your mental list of weird things you can do with water before Alan decides he wants to try his hand at killing you again. 

Only this time... 

You aren't going to let him without a fight, no matter _what_ feelings you have that happen to remain for him and his stupid freckled face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELP. Vacation's over and we lost our money repairing the car and extending our stay at a motel after we got stuck at a hick town with no wi-fi, horrible signal, and only two overpriced mechanics. 0.o'
> 
> So that was fun. Side note: being chased by a goose is not as funny as it seems until the person the goose is chasing ends up being you.
> 
> Anyways, EEEEEEEE~! We have new fan art!!! FOUR new pieces of wonderful expressive love slapped on paper for a story I haven't updated in nearly a week aND I DON'T DESERVE THIS, I'M UTTER TRASH, I SHOULD HAVE UPDATED SOONER AND HAD IT READY ON TIME LIKE A DECENT HUMAN FREAKING BEING, BUT THEN EVERYTHING WENT DOWN HILL AND I'M STILL EMBARRASSED ABOUT THE GOOSE THING AND NOW I'M MELTING BECAUSE I'M HORRIBLE AT CONSISTENCY-
> 
> ...Um, but anyways, Please look at the wonderful art recently joining the list by Metamaterialgirl, Vanessagirl286, and TheSufferer1998~! (I love them so much and I love all their cute doodles- please allow me to burst into a flurry of happy pink confetti in the meantime. <3 <3)
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/163183278463/i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas-that-sans-get/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)


	44. Stupid Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A showdown between you and Alan?! What about Libby's spell book?!

 

Chapter 44: Stupid Emotions

**(6 Days Post Cliffdive)**

For the longest time you stare at Alan and Papyrus like a deer caught in headlights, but your eyes mostly rest on Alan since there's hardly a question about which of the two is more likely to impale you with something. Your heart clenches slightly at the horrible reminder that the person before you is someone trying to kill you, but you refrain from looking away from his beautiful brown eyes. They draw you in, despite all the inner turmoil you face with the familiar freckles scattered across his boyish features.

The flower around your head wriggles, prompting your hand to shoot up and brush the yellow petals of Flowey. He's anxious- he must have peeked due to the silence. You whisper for him to stop between clenched teeth, well aware of the tension Alan displays when your arm lifts to touch the gold flower in your hair.

_What do I do? Asgore and Papyrus are here- and it's no question they'll jump in if Alan decides to attack. Should I leave though? What about telling Asgore everything? Furthermore, would_ Asgore _even let me leave?_

Your stomach plummets when Alan's brown eyes finally drift from your face to the thick leather book on the table between you and King Asgore. Much to your inherent surprise, King Asgore stands right up and reaches over to take your wrist, pulling you a smidgen closer to himself protectively.

"Welcome, young man. Papyrus has brought me up to speed on the situation, but... As you can see, an unforeseen event has surfaced since he last contacted me. Now... You may be remorseful due to the knowledge that the ends to your actions were successfully met, but appears things have changed. Whatever you choose to do from this point on will tell me whether or not your remorse is truly honest or merely a situational effect caused by your recent actions," King Asgore speaks up, staring at Alan with a firm gaze. 

_What? What's going on? Alan is here for a reason? He's guilty for killing me or something?_  You try to make sense of the situation, only to feel your stomach flip when Asgore pulls your arm gently to guide you in front of himself. A pang of fear runs across your body at the sudden exposure before Alan, who stands only a few feet in front of where Papyrus is standing with his gloves wrapped tightly over his jaw and teeth. 

Aforementioned tall skeleton stands back with transparent orange liquid gently running from the outer corners of his eyes, but doesn't step forwards. Instead, much to your surprise, he gently reaches out to push Alan forwards towards the middle of the room. Alan finally tears his intense gaze away from the book to meet Papyrus' gaze, stiffening up at the skeleton's expression as he nods his skull to urge Alan forward.

"Don't worry. If something happens, I will be here to intervene," King Asgore coaxes, his words only furthering your anxiety when your thoughts click together with realization. It's like he's...!

_Is this some kind of bait for Alan? To see if he will do something now that he knows I'm alive?!_  You think, swallowing thickly as you turn to look back at Alan, who walks closer and stops in the middle of the room. You momentarily wonder if he expects you to do the same, and stubbornly stand your ground in quiet defiance as a result.

Your eyes dance across his features again, taking it all in. You're not sure which you hate more- the fact that he's still _extremely_ attractive to your eyes or the fact that the expression he's wearing gives you the sense that he's _honestly_ sorry for his actions. Screw him. _Screw Alan Barrett._  How dare he look at you like that, with those chocolate brown eyes and those charming freckles... How dare he _apologize_ when he should have fought to defend you the moment you needed him the most. 

Midst the moment of silence, you wait for that cynical voice in the back of your mind to finally rear it's ugly head once more, filling your thoughts with toxic assumptions and poisonous observations.

...

...Once again, there is nothing of the sort to speak up.

The feeling of Asgore gently pushing you forward finally snaps you out of your daze, enough for you to glance back at him with a slight scowl. You don't want to. He nods his head towards Alan, eliciting a snort of disdain on your part before you turn to glare at Alan's dark blue shirt- adorned at the front with a red anchor that you practically expect to catch fire with how intense your leer is. It's easier to glare at his shirt than his face- the face of a deceptively charming boy who appears to _still,_ despite the fucking _shit_ he's put you through, have your thoughts and affection wrapped around his little finger. At this point, as you step forwards to approach him, you take the chance to wonder if maybe _he's_ the one who's put some kind of stupid hex on you to make you feel so irrationally infatuated by him.

As you stop a reasonable six or so feet away, you dare to look up at his brown eyes, which gaze back down at you almost in silent wonder.

Asgore wants to test him? Fine. You'll give Alan a test then- one he won't _ever_ forget.

_**"Kill me,"**_  you snap with a severe firmness, watching as your words prompt Alan and Papyrus to reel back with wide eyes and sockets alike. Whatever Asgore's reaction is, you're unaware due to him standing in the opposite direction, and you don't care enough to check. There's only _you and Alan._ This has nothing to do with Papyrus or Asgore, at least for the moment.

Alan stares, jaw dropping open a fraction as his eyes bounce around your face to extract a reason for your words. He only opens his mouth when he appears to find no answer.

_"What?!"_  He squawks, his skin going pale at the blunt jab your words drive into him. You don't dare hesitate with your next statement, knowing that if you give him a chance to think, it will just be a rehearsed reaction.

"Don't just stand there, you massive _idiot,"_  you bark, watching as his expression twists in utter disbelief. _That's right,_ you think with malignant amusement, halting the urge to laugh vindictively at the expressions crossing Alan's face. _He's never seen the snappy side of myself, at least not like the others have. Maybe he'll be more prone to trying to off me if I show him_ my _true colors. If I'd still been completely under his spell, I'd have_ never _been able to live with myself if he ever saw me acting like this. Good thing I'm conflicted now... Maybe if he hates me, I'll get over these butterflies he still stirs inside of me._

"B-but-!" He stammers, resembling more of a vegetable at this point than he does a powerful mage once attempting to ensnare you with both his charm and his plant magic.

"It's not that hard. See?" You whip out a Swiss army blade you'd decided to keep on you after dressing at home, quickly flicking the blade out with one hand as you grab his wrist with the other. Papyrus appears to panic from behind an equally freaked out Alan and takes a step forward in preparation to intervene if he has to. Much to your relief, Alan doesn't fight back much- if at all. Vines do not sneak up on you as you make the risky move of slamming the hilt of the blade in Alan's right palm, facing the blade in your direction before wrapping his hand around the handle and bringing your crush's hand up to place the sharp end at the sensitive center of your neck daringly. Alan gawks when he realizes the position you've forced him in. "There. I've made it _easier_ for you."

You narrow your eyes again, this time meeting his anxious brown eyes unflinchingly. Alan leans back slightly, as if completely flummoxed by the swing in your otherwise benevolent behavior prior to the cliff incident. His behavior, on the other hand, strikes an unfortunate chord in you as being breathlessly adorable- enough that you have to forcibly squash your affection and strengthen your glare.

"Now _finish the damn job already,"_ you say, moving his hand to press the blade against your neck a little more. "I thought you wanted to clean this place of cold-blooded killers? Now's your chance, considering I can't defend myself if a dog monster is saying I'm a witch. I'm just another killer, right? Not like _you're_ going to verify it or not."

Alan's arm trembles slight, but you notice with concealed interest at the fact that the weight of his arm... Well, if you let go of his hand, it would just drop like a potato sack. He's not holding the knife to your neck at all- it's mostly just _you_ holding it to your own neck. No matter though, it's there to drive the point home. 

He hurt you _first,_ it's only reasonable that you make him hurt as well. Even if it's only a verbal flaying you're giving him with a taste of reality.

"You know... This really makes me wonder about all the witches you and your cousin have killed up till now. Or to be more specific... The people accused of witchcraft that actually were _not_ witches. Y'know, the _innocents_. If Hana said I was a witch and I'm pretty damn sure I'm not, I'd hate to learn the _real_ number of witches you killed opposed to the innocents she pegged to be witches," you add, watching Alan swallow thickly at your intense gaze. If you had to guess by the sullen and stark look on his face, he's already thought about that before. Makes sense that he would, considering his initial hesitation to go against you even at his cousin's orders. "You're a murderer. Your cousin is a murderer. You're acting on your own version of justice and now look where it's gotten the two of you."

Alan winces at that.

_Is this good enough? He doesn't... He's not reacting like I thought he would at all,_ you think, allowing your expression to relax slightly at his clear despondence. Your heart almost cracks at the look on his face, and you mentally scold yourself for wanting to soften the blow after all of your verbal attacks. You're a bit more explosive with those words than you've ever been before, but at least for the most part, Alan looks incredibly guilty. You swallow down a block of ice that's suddenly lodged itself in your throat and release your grip on Alan's hand, watching it fall to his side as the blade clatters to the ground past it. At the sound, you flinch a bit and take a step back when you suddenly notice his other hand reaching up towards you quickly.

A gasp fails to escape you when you realize the hand aimed straight towards your neck. Did you strike a nerve? Shit...! You're too close to avoid him! 

Your eyes snap shut and you draw in your arms to your chest defensively, feeling your body shrink back into itself... Until that incoming hand wraps around the front of your shirt and yanks you forward unexpectedly. With your eyes squeezed shut entirely, you don't expect in a million years to land face first against Alan Barrett's warm chest as his arms wrap tightly around you- bringing you in for an intimate embrace. Your heart damn near flips right out of your rib cage being so close to him with little to no warning, causing a horrible flush of red to rush to your face that you're forced to hide by burying your face into Alan's chest.

_No! DAMN THESE HORMONES! I hate this! I HATE THIS!_  You try to convince yourself to no avail, even as you half melt in his arms. He tried to kill you. He _hurt_ you. He didn't stop Clayton from trying to kill you. So why... Why are you still feeling things like _this_ for him? Why is it that you so badly want to forgive him this soon, when you still haven't even fully forgiven _Sans?_

"...Nothing I can say will ever make up for what I've done. To you and to everyone else I've..." Alan trails off, and with you being so close to his chest, you can clearly hear him swallow before he starts speaking again. "I'm sorry isn't enough. And I can't watch you die a second time without doing something to stop it. I can't _kill_ you. I don't _want_ to kill you. I _never_ wanted to. I didn't want to even hurt anybody, actually... I just followed whatever Clayton asked of me, even when I knew it was wrong. I won't pin all the blame on him though. The only reason I listened to him was because I was still angry about our past, and I _shouldn't_ have been."

Your fingers tighten against the sides of his waist, scrunching up the once immaculate fabric of his shirt. You believe him- and you're not sure if it's because you think he's being honest or because of your infatuation. It terrifies you to think you could so easily be played by the mere words of this _one_ guy. If he told you the world was flat, you realize you'd likely believe him in a heartbeat. A shiver runs up your spine as a result, but you're not privy to whether Alan feels it or not.

"I've taken all my pain out on people Hana has deemed to be witches, and even though I had the inkling that it couldn't be that simple of a determining factor for her to sniff out witches, I just let them do it anyways. So you're right. I _am_ a murderer... And I'm _so_ sorry I let you become another victim on our long list of targets," Alan finishes, sending a sparks along your spine that far outweigh your shivers when he presses his cheek against the top of your head. Momentarily, you wonder just how uncomfortable Flowey must be atop your head with Alan so close, but the lack of any response on his part like a tightening of his vines prompts you to shrug it off as a result.

"...You _were_ a murderer, Alan. Not anymore though, I presume?" King Asgore speaks up, snapping the two of you out of your little world with his unabashed words. You jerk in Alan's grip and pull back from him abruptly, enough that there's a good two feet of space between the two of you. 

...And enough that Alan's surprised and slightly teary eyed face gets a pretty good look at the scarlet hue that has engulfed your entire face as a result of his actions. Momentarily, there's a tense moment in which your crush stares at you quietly with little to no reaction, and since you've been brought back to the real world by Asgore's interruption, you're hyper aware of Papyrus's expression of barely restrained pride and glee as he stares at you and Alan with a big smile from beside the front door. His red gloved hands are squeezed tightly on either side of his face, like you've seen Alphys do when talking about her favorite ships in anime, glistening sockets meeting yours as you realize how utterly transparent your emotions are at the moment.

As a result, you react with little thought other than to _get the hell away from Alan._

"D-don't look at me! JERK!" You bark in unrestrained panic, bringing a hand up to push against Alan's askew open jaw and angle his face up to the ceiling as you lift your leg to kick him as hard as possible against his shin. Half of you is horrified by your reactions, the other half is distraught by the pained boyish yelp you draw out of Alan when your shoe makes direct contact. Before you can make another terrible decision however, you spin around and scurry to hide behind King Asgore, peeking from behind his huge body as you do your damned best to quell the blush on your face. Asgore, for his part, only looks confused by that last quarrel. Alan himself falls back on his ass unceremoniously and rubs his shin carefully, though his eyes flick up towards you curiously despite his obvious pain. When you see this, you retreat behind Asgore and cross your arms with a huff of annoyance.

_Stupid!_ You think, the word aimed both at yourself as much as it's aimed at Alan.

"Well then..." King Asgore surprises you when he steps forwards to help Alan back onto his feet, turning him so that both you and Papyrus can see the two of them. As soon as Alan is back on his feet, his gaze leaves you to focus back on Asgore. When you notice this, you turn your head slightly so both you and Flowey can peek. "This will not hurt, but it may be a slight surprise."

_What will not hurt?_  You think in confusion, turning your head a little more as your blush finally begins fading away. 

King Asgore reaches out and makes a gesture towards Alan's chest, quickly reminding you of the gesture both Sans and Alphys made when attempting to extract your soul. In seconds, without warning, Alan lets out a startled noise as a relatively medium sized green light pops out from inside of him. Your body turns back entirely to look, ignoring Papyrus swift turn in the opposite direction to  _not_ look at it. Why the tall skeleton would look away, you can only assume has to do with what Undyne once told you. The fact that the soul is a very _intimate_ piece of a living being...

But you yourself want to see it. 

"Hm... Your soul's dominant trait is that of 'kindness' and you have no execution points," Asgore observes out loud, much to your immediate surprise. Moving your gaze to the monster king, you shoot him an inquisitive frown of confusion. Asgore gives you no response, but acknowledges your query with a slight nod of his head.

_How? How can Alan not have any execution points if he's been hunting witches with Clayton? Surely he's killed one or two people... Hasn't he?_

King Asgore turns to look at Alan's soul once more, before gesturing it back into Alan's body. As it vanishes through the general area of his chest, Alan inhales sharply and tenses his body. It isn't until a few seconds after that he finally brings himself to look down, patting at his chest gently and staring at the area from where his soul emerged with a thoughtful expression of confusion.

"...Am I correct in assuming that this cousin of yours is likely to harbor the entirety of the execution points accumulated by your attempts to eradicate witches? That he's the one to have dealt all of the killing blows?" Asgore asks, sympathy shining through his scarlet irises as Alan's face falls with a small noise of confirmation.

_He didn't kill anyone, but he's still an accessory to murder,_  you remind your hopeful nerves, quickly dousing the fire of your rising desire.

"I see..." Asgore murmurs, reaching up to stroke his beard in consideration at the news that's been dropped on him. His gaze jumps back over to you midst his thinking, and you straighten up without thinking. "...First and foremost, let us clear some of the confusion between the two of you, shall we?"

You look back over at Alan just as he looks at you, but this time you've got a better grip on your poker face since he's not hugging you so close. A frown on your part at the freckled mage quickly has him shrinking back a tad bit, and you quietly relish in his reaction.

"Miss (Name) is not a witch. Never has been and never _can_ be, because she can use actual magic... In a sense," Asgore adds with a bit of a wry smile, prompting your cheeks to turn a bit red in embarrassment.

...That is, until you realize something important that causes your entire body to freeze up anxiously.

_Shit. Alan has seen Flowey's vine magic, but has reasoned it out in his mind to be_ my _magic since he has no idea that Flowey is here. Even worse, I went and told King Asgore that I can heal myself to perfection by simply jumping in some water... Can someone even have two different magic abilities? What if they figure out the flower in my hair is the sentient Asriel come back from the dead? Shit, shit, shit-!_

"...What?" Alan pipes up in clear confusion, prompting Asgore to look back over at him.

"Witches. They don't use magic. They use witchcraft in the form of hexes, charms, etcetera... Magic is the extension of a soul's energy- witchcraft is made and created by outside forces. Furthermore, even if a witch is ever caught by witch hunting mages such as you and Clayton, they'd be unable to fight back entirely. Using witchcraft upon a witch's own interest and benefit, even in a life or death situation, is forbidden by their higher power and deems an immediate execution of the witch. Basically, to survive a hunter, they would likely do nothing and wait to see if their higher power finds them useful enough to come to their aid in the form of coincidental release, if I had to guess," Asgore informs Alan, causing the freckled male's expression to go stark pale.

You look away with a grimace. There's the confirmation you were waiting for- the confirmation that Clayton and Alan have ended the lives of many who were not guilty at all.

"Miss Human...!"

You squeak at the unexpected hug you're wrapped in by a tall skeleton you hadn't even noticed approaching you, but as soon as you realize it's just Papyrus enthusiastically nuzzling the top of your head with his cheek bone, you relax again. Due to his height, your legs hang uselessly in the air from his hold like a doll.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" He continues, while King Asgore continues talking with Alan about something you're sure you ought to be listening to... But choose not to due to the warm fuzzies you feel from Papyrus honest elation at simply seeing you again. You bury your face in the red scarf around his neck, arms tightly winding around his neck as if scared you'll let yourself walk away from him again like you did when you last saw his body frozen in time within the Underground.

"Hi, Paps," you respond in kind, only loosening your hold on him when he leans forward you place you back on your feet properly. Once he releases you, you muster up the courage to give him a bit of a smile and a jester. "It's alright now. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Papyrus visibly winces, shifting his eye sockets in a different direction. "I... I don't believe you quite grasp the severity of the aftermath your disappearance caused for us, Miss Human," Papyrus gently states, quickly erasing the smile from your face as he rubs your shoulders with his gloved hands. "Even Sans has become a bit more withdrawn as of late."

_Sans._

Just the reminder of his name and existence is enough for a pang of nerve wracking guilt to ripple across your body. You almost forgot with the discovery of Libby's awful secret... You forgot you yourself fed Sans to the wolves by leaving him back in Waterfall.

You pull away from Papyrus' hold and press a hand against your face shamefully, biting your lip. There's no way to soften the blow at all. You're going to have to tell it to him straight and hope for the best. Considering that this is Papyrus and not one of the others... He'll either burst into tears and call you a heartless heathen or he'll scold you angrily and call you a barbaric heathen. You know, _before_ telling you he believes you can do better.

...Seems like something you could imagine him doing. Papyrus killing you himself though? You're hard pressed to believe that could _ever_ happen, and you're rather thankful for it since you know how scary  _Sans_ can be when he wants to. 

"Paps, Sans is likely withdrawn for some other reason... I doubt he'd be affected by my death at all, since I abandoned him underground even though he was trying to help me out when that... _Thing_ was chasing us. Why would he be upset when I basically left him to die when he needed the most help? ...What I did was awful. I couldn't carry him anyways, but even then- I never considered it would be impossible when I decided to leave him. I left because I got _angry_ at him. I yelled at him and I blamed this whole mess on him and on you- basically  _everyone_ that is a monster. I blamed it on monsters even when it was obvious I was just using your people as an excuse because I was confused by the circumstances that made me go to Mt. Ebott to help Gaster in the first place!" 

Papyrus looks flabbergasted by your words, but before he can say or ask anything pertaining to your confession, Asgore speaks up and gathers everyone attention. You're a little startled to hear that King Asgore as well as Alan have heard your awful little confession aside from only Papyrus, the only one you intended for the confession to be given to.

"I'm sorry, but... What was that name you just mentioned right now?" King Asgore inquires, looking straight at you with a strange expression that... Unsettles you slightly. Striking you immediately as odd, you drag your gaze to Alan and purse your lips slightly when you realize he has the same half confused, half uncomfortable expression on his face.

You look back up at Papyrus, but he looks hardly affected by whatever has come over the other two. In fact, the two of you share an equally concerned look before turning back towards Alan and Asgore.

"Um... G-Gaster..." You manage to get yourself to say, watching intently as Asgore's scarlet eyes flash with... Something. He turns his head to look down at his feet, and although you expect a thoughtful look to come over his features, he only appears to stare downwards with a dead, empty gaze towards his feet. Alan just stares at you like a fish, which you can't help but frown at since he was only shrinking away from you moments earlier. Why do the two of them have such... Stupid expressions on their faces?

Moments of silence pass the four of you, until Papyrus manages to gently squeak, "Y-your highness? Sir Human?"

In unison, both of them shake their heads and look back up at you and Papyrus. While King Asgore shakes his head and offers you a gentle smile of sympathy, Alan starts scratching his head as he looks around the room in confusion. You and Papyrus watch curiously as Asgore steps towards you, taking your small hands in his warm ones- both fuzzy with pink pads along his fingers and palm that radiate heat.

"(Name)... I'm sure you didn't leave Sans alone with the intention of him dying. I cannot condone your actions as just or even relatively thought out, however... You're both alive. The two of you got out of there, and all I can tell you is that if you want to move on, you need to forgive _yourself_. Sans has already told me of the events leading up to the point you left him. _He_ forgives you. Papyrus is correct in his observations as well, his brother _is_ affected by the aftermath of your passing, even if he himself doesn't think it. I'm not too sure what the relationship is between the two of you, even though I was concerned about what I was hearing from Undyne in the beginning, but if he's willing to look at you in a completely different light... Despite everything he's told me he's done to you, and you to him, I honestly believe wholeheartedly that he cares more you than you think."

You're hesitant to reveal that you're somewhat touched by the exposed sentimentality of the short skeleton, and despite hanging on King Asgore's every word in regards to giving you advice when you need it, your mind continues to linger on what had just happened moments before. Thoughts spin around in your head furiously, attempting to piece themselves together and bring forth any important details that may have been dropped before you sent _them_ away.

"...Gaster," you simply repeat, watching Asgore's expression fall into an empty look as his hands slip from yours. Behind him, Alan slaps both hands over his face and leans over a bit as if to breathe. Instead, he just falls silent as well. Noticing the oddity in the pattern, you look Papyrus to see if any change in _his_ behavior has occurred. By the expression of bewildered confusion scrawled across his skull, it seems you and him are the only ones immune to whatever is happening whenever you mention Gaster's name.

Again, a few seconds pass, and King Asgore seems to shake out of whatever had caused him to go so dead still. Alan straightens up as well, at around the same time with a weird frown as he slides his hands down enough to only reveal his eyes and a few of the freckles across his cheekbones. A smile forms back on Asgore's face, but when he notices the astounded looks on both yours and Papyrus' visages, his own smile suddenly fades into a serious look of confusion.

"May I ask why the two of you are gawking at me in such a way?" The monster king asks, watching as the tall skeleton takes the helm by nodding furiously in response. King Asgore raises a brow, glancing over at Alan and gesturing him towards the kitchen once more. As soon as the four of you are settled in your seats, you finding yourself right by Alan's side much to your frustration, you share another uncomfortable look with Papyrus across the dining table. How do the two of you even go about explaining it...?

"Well... King Asgore Sir? It appears as if you and Sir Human seem to act strangely whenever a certain name comes up..." Papyrus carefully informs the two, eye sockets jumping from one to the other as you study Asgore specifically. Better than having to look at Alan and feeling those horrid fluttering sensations you can't seem to shake.

"Oh? And what name might that be?" Asgore asks, curiosity lining his irises as he looks back over at you.

"It's Ga-" Papyrus starts, until you stand and press a hand over his teeth to cut him off. "Hold on a second... What makes you think saying it a third time will change what's happened already _twice_ now?" 

Papyrus shrugs sheepishly, but waits until you pull your hand off his his mouth to respond properly. "Excuse my haste, Miss Human, I believe you are _absolutely_ right! ...Now what?" He adds, frowning in confusion at the new conundrum and obstacle. You look around the kitchen until your eyes land on a small notepad and pen lying on the counter by the fridge, likely meant for creating a shopping list. As soon as your eyes fall upon the two objects, you get up to grab them and scribble the name down with the marker clearly so Asgore can read it.

"Let's see if the effects are the same this way..." You suggest, walking back over to the table and passing the notepad over to Asgore. He takes it almost cautiously within his hand and brings it to his line of sight to see it. 

Much to your irritation, Alan curiously starts to lean forward to try and read what you've handed specifically to _Asgore_ , but a brisk slap to the back of his head has the freckled mage quickly sitting back like a whipped dog, guilt written all across his slightly pouting face. You're almost hypnotized into staring at the cute display, but quickly get your bearings and remind yourself of his transgressions upon you, which in turn ends up helping you look back at Asgore to see the blank expression across his face.

In seconds, the notepad drops from his hands and he blinks in surprise as the small magnetic clipboard of notes claps loudly against the tile floor, snapping him out of his stupor. With his hands still in front of him and in the air, as if still holding something, Asgore frowns in confusion and then looks up at you and Papyrus. Alan stays quiet for the most part, but the baffled look on his face doesn't escape your attention.

"That didn't work either then..." You observe, reaching up to touch your chin in thought as you face Papyrus. "Why would hearing or reading that name make both Asgore and Alan forget about it and stall like that? I mean... I get why I might not be affected, Ga- I mean, _they_ told me I was the only one they could communicate with. What I don't understand is why you're not affected either, Paps."

"...I'm sorry, what is it that's going on?" King Asgore inquires politely, finally lowering his hands while you and Papyrus wince sympathetically.

"Should we attempt a fourth time just in case?" Papyrus suggests, though by the look on his face, he doesn't quite believe it will change anything, and you wholesomely agree.

_We haven't even talked about all this witch stuff and then_ this _springs up on us out of nowhere? Are the witches and Gaster maybe connected? Come on, I_ JUST _got back!_ You think in annoyance, right before Papyrus makes a small noise of thoughtful consideration. You look over at him curiously, raising a single brow at the look on his face as he stares down at the fallen clipboard, which has conveniently landed face down to conceal the name on the other side.

"What are you thinking about?" You ask, watching as Papyrus runs his hands over his skull with a sigh.

"Well, Miss Human, I still have a lot of questions I want to ask, but... Just now, I was reminded of what happened when Sans, Undyne, Pink Human and the canine Cynthia traversed the underground to find you," Papyrus says, making you narrow your eyes as if studying him will reveal the answers faster than his mouth can.

"'Pink Human'?" You ask, watching the tall skeleton sit up with an exuberant nod of excitement as he replies, "Yes! Yes, the tall sculpted human! The one that lives here with Asgore!" 

Your brain connects the dots. "Druella."

"Mm-hm! When Sans' decided to have the two of us go out looking for you-" A pang of disbelief hits you right in the heart. It was Sans who immediately wanted to go looking for you off the bat? "-We called everyone in our friend loop to see if they knew who you were, since Sans informed me that Undyne apparently said she had no idea who 'Miss Human' was. No one knew who I was talking about at all! Not even _Burgerpants!"_

You could practically imagine the look on the cat monster's face if he'd heard Papyrus spouting his nickname around like that.

"Now that I think about it..." Alan speaks up, casting you a cautious glance in case you slap the back of his head for daring to speak up. "I remember getting a phone call during my nap from Papyrus before you and Clay came to the loft, but I can't remember what it was about. At all."

Papyrus throws his hands out towards Alan dramatically, as if he's the perfect proof. "See?! I _did_ call Sir Human that night! And he had no recollection of you either when I asked him! It was like you never even existed!"

Your eyebrows furrow in confusion, but it isn't until Alan seems to notice the thick leather book still laying on the table that he stands up again. This time, you let him since he has such a peculiar look on his face. He flicks the thing open the first few pages, frowning at the stones and names before averting his attention onto the strange writing at the top of the pages.

"Who's book is this?" He demands, any and all pacifistic tendencies fading into something a little more controlled and firm. Rather than make him sit back down, you share a look with Papyrus. 

_We'll deal with Gaster's anomaly later, since we're not getting anywhere with it at the moment,_ you think, only half startled when Papyrus immediately nods in understanding. When did you manage to achieve soul force with _Papyrus?_  Was it after the dance during your date?

"It's my sister's," you confirm, since you've already gone and told Asgore about it. "I found it in her room... Which looks even more messed up than that book does."

Alan looks over at you, finally meeting your gaze without flinching back like a wounded dog. "Your _sister?_ " He asks in horror as he takes the moment to give you a speculative once over. After a beat, he seems to realize the answer and hums lightly in understanding. "...The scent Hana picked up was the smell of your sister's witchcraft. Not _you_ doing witchcraft."

You nod in confirmation, reaching up to weave your fingers through your bangs in frustration. "I had _no idea._ I thought you and Clayton were just delusional when you brought it up, but then after I healed myself and got back home... I found some really messed up stuff in Libby's bedroom. Like- _really_ messed up," you state, exhaling sharply. "What a mess..."

"You can say that again..." Alan agrees, sitting back down as he looks back at the book. He points to the top of the page with excessively scattered stones. "This page has hexes meant to make those afflicted like her more. Either in a friendly way or a romantic way- depending on how much they already like her prior to the effects of the hex. Seems like this spell is her favorite."

He turns to another page, one where you remember seeing Sans' glowing stone still present. You immediately scout it out, finding it at the lower left corner of the page. "Any way we can break the hexes?"

"...We can damage the stones one by one with hammers. But it'll take a while, considering the size of this book. This is the largest witch's book I've seen to date- and I've seen a ton, _believe me,"_ Alan informs you, before getting back to telling you about this page. "The hexes on this page are meant to discourage any sort of hostility against her- verbal or physical." 

Another page is turned. "...Oh boy," Alan murmurs, staring down in mild discomfort at the single stone and name scrawled under it, placed at the very center of the page. "Well... On the bright side, it seems the hex is no longer active."

"What is this one for, Sir Human?" Papyrus inquires, registering the name of his brother under the single stone present. You lean forward over Alan's shoulder when you notice the careful script of writing adorning the top of the page in strange symbols, looking like it was written with much more care than the other pages in the rest of the book. When you notice the hearts around the text, however, your brain seems to piece together what this page is most likely for, causing your jaw to drop slightly in unadulterated shock.

_Oh my god...! She had a crush on...?!_

Alan takes a moment to find the right words to offer Papyrus, who wrings his hands together with his gloves anxiously at the name under the dead stone.

"...It was a hex to make your brother fall in love with (Name)'s sister."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer since I wanted to add in a few important details :P Also had to look back a few times at some notes for the story.
> 
> Sorry for the wait! ^-^'
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/163183278463/i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas-that-sans-get/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)


	45. Pieces of the Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season Two: START~!

 Chapter 45: Pieces of the Puzzle

 

**(6 Days Post Cliffdive)**

"...This doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?" Druella asks as she stares up at the popcorn ceiling of Alphys' and Sans' workplace, laying back on the patient bed as Sans affixes the sensors across her thorax properly to see if he can get Alphys' computer screen to display something a little more... _reasonable._

Alphys exhales heavily and tosses Druella's unfinished and unwritten folder on the table with a knit brow of confusion, gesturing to the computer before her. "The thing isn't telling me the right information. It should be calculating a diagram of the percentage of each trait your soul has- Patience, Determination, Justice levels... But this thing keeps flickering back and forth, resetting between monster and human diagrams. It's like there's some kind of glitch or something."

Alphys turns to look at the mechanical scanner drive set up on a trolley beside Druella and Sans. Before she can say anything else though, Sans waltzes over and slams a fist on the chunky technology a couple of times nonchalantly, causing Alphys to garble and wave her arms around in slight panic- that is, until her computer seems to stop beeping and flickering- settling on the human diagram and finishing the initial scan. Upon waiting to see if the box will start acting up again, Alphys shoots her rather smug looking friend a distressed leer of mild irritation. 

"C-can you maybe... _Not_ give me a heart attack like that? In case you've forgotten, this equipment? I-it's not _ours!_  A-and knowing you, you'll tell them to put it on your tab! Which means _I'll_ have to pay for it!" Alphys huffs, prompting Sans to shrug casually, grinning and pulling his free hand from his coat to gesture to the computer beside them. 

"Hey, it got it working though, didn't it? Don't be so hasty with the condemnation, it **megahertz** me," Sans replies, half snickering under his breath and side glancing to see if Druella finds his antics and puns funny.

_Of course he would so quickly bounce back to jokes and puns as a way to deflect his discomfort..._  Alphys dimly observes, not looking into the matter all to much since she knows every person has their own outlet. For Alphys herself, your disappearance meant extra hours focusing on work, and extra "one more episode" excuses during anime binges.

Likely due to the relaxant drugs he'd administered to her, the tall dark haired woman cracks one of her rare small smiles to make him happy. It's almost as if she knows that he's looking for a reaction.

Alphys shakes her head with exasperated resignation, resisting the urge to face palm. "Alright, alright... Now let's see here what the scan says," Alphys dismisses the skeleton, looking over at her computer screen and typing in a few commands to get extra notes and information on what is already present. "So, Druella, your soul's dominant trait appears to be... Patience! Th-that's actually one of the initial guesses I'd picked when I first met you! And then... You look like you have a bit of Determination coming in second on your trait calculations. Every human has a strong a-amount of Determination altogether, but it's rare to have a human soul that is completely doused with Determination a-as the dominant trait. Frisk has that kind of soul, but out of the other nineteen studies i-including yourself, I've yet to find another person with a dominant Determination tra-"

The gold lizard monster abruptly stops as her eyes finally drag down to the most important information of the trait calculation, that being the numbers and percentage levels of each present trait. The longer she stares, the more she believes herself to be hallucinating, but the numbers don't change. Eventually, enough minutes pass that Sans finally moves up beside her to see what's the commotion. He ends up staring blandly at the screen too- jawbone dropping open slightly the longer the numbers stay present on the screen.

Normally, the results show a total percentage of one hundred and fifty split between all the traits, due to the original built scanner Alphys' created- one abandoned back underground- having a set maximum for only monster potential. If the patient was a monster, the total would be of a calculated one hundred percent as a result of the system, however...

Druella's scans showed the total percentage of traits to be that of _two hundred and fifty._

"Where the _hell_ is that extra one hundred percent coming from...?" Sans whispers lowly in question to Alphys, who shakes her head nervously in equal bewilderment and confusion. Regardless, her levels of Patience still hold the dominance over the rest of the traits in the spectrum, and to look further into the odd number her trait count total presents would violate _her_ side of the agreement- at least within the walls of this building. If Alphys is to look deeper into the matter, she'll likely have to ask Druella outside of the building without any of the relaxant drugs in her system to cloud her judgement. 

"D-doesn't matter. Let's just record all of this and f-finish collecting the rest of what we need for this week. We have one more patient tomorrow before we move on to the next tests- let's f-focus on that first before we figure out whatever is going on with the trait count total..." Alphys whispers back, right before grabbing Druella's file again and getting back into her worker bee focus to record all the numbers and information necessary. "We can call and ask her if she would mind a test separate at my private lab tomorrow after the next person comes in."

Sans nods in agreement, before biting his mouth ridge and shuffling a little in his slippers, which he'd gotten the bright idea to bring in despite Alphys practically _begging_ him not to.

Alphys rolls her eyes as she pauses scribbling in the file, looking towards Sans and fixing her glasses with a look. "Let me g-guess... You want to be there for it."

Sans breaks into a wide grin. "Pretty please? With a dino nugget on top?"

"F-fine, Sans. Don't get your hopes up yet though, we still need to ask her and see if she'll a-agree to it... If she does agree, leave your puns _at home_ ," Alphys agrees as she returns to Druella's file, knowing Sans will likely just teleport into her private lab when they start the extra tests anyways.

"I'll try, but no promises. I don't **compute** well without a few puns here and there. It's like a **glitch**  I can't scratch!"

Alphys groans but goes about doing her work, looking back up at the screen as Sans turns to entertain Druella. Just as she is about to write another note down, the screen flickers to try and do an assessment of a monster soul yet again, but quickly flicks back to a human assessment, prompting the anime loving monster to sigh as she waits for the re-scan of Druella to get the remaining information necessary for the document in her hand.

What an annoying glitch...

* * *

 

**(One Week Post Cliffdive)**

Your eyes snap open and you sit up slightly in a dazed mild surprise, looking around in confusion until you realize you're in the guest bed at Asgore's comfy home after a very tasty dinner prepared by Toriel and Frisk.

Sleeping on the floor in the same room is Alan, fast asleep in a sleeping bag far too big for him. It's likely a custom-made sleeping bag like the van in the driveway, sized specifically for Asgore and Toriel's larger bodies. Heck, Alan looks like he could get swallowed up by that sleeping bag!

Your hand reaches up automatically in search of Flowey, but when you feel your loose tresses between your fingers, you look around on the bed in search. To your relief, you find the little flower prince snuggled up under the edge of your pillow, hidden in case someone happens to stumble in while he's sleeping. Smart flower.

Despite waking up dazed, you shake off the sleep and drag a hand over your face to wake yourself up. Knowing Alan is in the room unsettles you mildly, but not as much as you expect it would. It's awful enough that you still have a crush on him, but worse that you can sleep in the same room as him- despite the fact he could so easily change his mind and strike you dead at any moment during the night....

Sure, Flowey's in the room, but chances are that you'll be already dead by the time the non-monster has a chance to step in and intervene.

Sleep is both the best and the worst thing to ever grace human-kind and monster-kind, in your opinion

_I can't believe the shit that's happened. First, monsters entering my life and Gaster visits... Then finding the source of the hum Gaster told me to find, and running through the Underground with a creature of unknown origin chasing me around... And finally, Libby being a witch, Alan and Clayton being mages, and a close encounter with death,_ you think, running a hand over your face again as if it will make the puzzle come together faster.

It feels as if things are missing, but things are connecting somewhat. You can't complain if you're getting _some_ answers.

_Alright, first and foremost... Libby's witchcraft and the issues with Alan and Clayton being witch hunters are a completely separate thing from the creature underground and Gaster's mostly unknown motives... Right? That much I'm sure of... Unless this "higher power" the witches have been serving is somehow related to the creature that was chasing Sans and I in the Underground._

...You grimace when you realize you might just have to reconnect with Gaster, apologize for your brash demands to send them away, and call them back so you can help them. Honestly, you don't really _want_ to contact them again, not after nearly dying again and again (one time nearly succeeding) over something they've yet to explain to you.

You finger the fabric around your neck for a moment, the silky sleek material soft against your fingertips. Although already getting your hands on it, you still don't know what kind of fabric it may be, what it was made for, or how it could make such a strong musical hum only audible to your ears and the ears of the unknown creature that chased you Underground. Gaster mentioned it was imperative the monster not get it, and although you've gone over these exact details several times in hopes of an answer, the puzzle does not piece itself together. Maybe you still don't have enough of the details for it to make sense yet?

_How do I get Gaster's attention to get the other pieces of the puzzle though?_  You wonder, bringing a hand up to your chin as you think to the past times they'd contacted you. It's always been _them_ that's approached you. Never the other way around... And thinking of a way to replicate their approach is impossible, since you have no magical abilities to contact people through their unconscious.

First and foremost is that detail. It's always been when you were unconscious that Gaster would approach you. They did it multiple times in your sleep, and one time while you were awake- by causing you to pass out as a means of putting you in a state where they could finally talk to you. That likely has to do with why they can only contact you and no one else... Papyrus stated that when you went missing, people forgot about your entire existence entirely, save for himself and Sans. Does that mean that Sans would likely not stall like Asgore and Alan if told or presented Gaster's name? And if so, does this mean Gaster is locked in that other colorless zone? You can believe that Sans might be immune to stalling, but it seems far-fetched that Gaster is in the Timeless Zone, otherwise they'd have approached you, right? Or maybe they were too scared to because of that thing chasing you? No, that doesn't seem like something they would do... They've tried helping you, despite putting you in a dangerous situation- if only to get you to successfully carry out their desired job. 

Either way, Gaster's situation rings heavy with similarities to how Papyrus described your original disappearance. So does that mean that Gaster's situation is more serious? That... That they truly don't exist anywhere at all?

_That has to be it,_ you think, taking a speculative glance around the room as if Gaster will pop up in there at any moment. The idea of Gaster appearing in there in their shadowy, half-melted form is foreboding and rather nerve wracking, but you quickly shake your nerves off. They look disturbing, but again, they can't appear in the waking world. Only in your mind while unconscious.

Your mind trails back to what happened immediately after Alan revealed Libby's attempted love spell on Sans, following Papyrus slack jaw and immediate yelp of disbelief as he snatched up the stone, placed it on the floor, and proceeded to stomp a boot on it in a single fluid motion. The stone shattered instantly, much to everyone's surprise at Papyrus' brash and hasty reaction.

Following the grocery list of problems that needed dealing with from highest priority to lowest priority, you'd made the suggestion to deal with the immediate problems within your grasp- starting with the stones in the book. Much to your annoyance, Alan immediately vetoed this, but after a reasonable explanation and some hasty backpedaling when you turned to try and land another kick on his extra undamaged leg, your fire was somewhat doused enough to reluctantly agree.

Breaking _all_ the stones would alarm Libby off the bat if people that showed camaraderie to her suddenly started drifting away from her for no apparent reason, so it was agreed that only the dull, lightless stones would be destroyed, along with one active stone on each page- primarily to reduce any suspicions on Libby's side about her spells suddenly _all_ failing in unison. Later, it was agreed that more stones will be broken as time passed- at least until someone found a way to deal with Libby directly.

The " _how_ " on dealing with Libby is the greatest of your concerns, despite most of your emotions being in a flurry due to the all these new things the spell book reveals Libby to be doing on her free time as a witch. You sure as hell don't want her to die- at _all._ She's your sister, blood or not. Despite being a shitty best friend/sister as of late, you can't bring yourself to throw away every good memory you have of her in exchange for justice. No matter how badly she's messed up this time. You hate yourself for being so forgiving of her, especially knowing she's killed a lot of people and will _continue_ to kill people. 

Even though she's basically been, as Alan had revealed, manipulating you like a puppet with all the spells he's pointed out to have your name on it.

_"Charm"_ spell, _"Discord"_ spell, _"Suggestion"_ spell, _"Taming"_ spell... All hexes she's placed on you- designed to make you entirely _obedient, submissive,_ and otherwise easier to control by Liberty Sterling. And yet, you still find yourself victim to the hope that maybe you can change all of this. Asgore has mentioned that's it's impossible to fight the higher one of the witches. That they kill in "coincidental" ways- like you'd suddenly and so reasonable figured out must have happened to Halley.

She'd lost all her money gambling and had come in sobbing her eyes out for some reason. You'd no idea why she was so upset over money- considering how nice she'd been to help you get ready for your date and everything. Just when you thought maybe you could patch and make up for the years of silence between the two of you, the higher power decided she was no use to them anymore...

... _What if Gaster is masquerading as the higher power of the witches?_

Shame blossoms in your belly, and you shake the thought out of your head, shifting to lay back down on the bed as your eyes momentarily flick towards Alan in case your movements wake him up. He doesn't move, and you continue with allowing your mind to wander for the most part. 

_Gaster being a higher power of witches makes no sense though. Not only is that a senseless accusation, but they wouldn't bother with_ me _if they could contact anyone else. Sure, Gaster could likely be lying, but that seems improbable too. Their emotions and reactions are too genuine. They_ cared _about my feelings enough to leave me alone when I was at my limit underground. Even though I'm their only hope in whatever they're trying to figure out and do. Other than this fabric I've retrieved, they've gotten nothing out of their contact with me. They haven't asked me to_ kill _anyone either- they've asked me to_ save one. _That frog monster with the magenta orb- Froggit._

_Gaster is **not** the higher power. _

Your concrete reasoning is enough to allow you to let out a breath as your body relaxes into the blankets and pillows. Back to square one... No way to contact Gaster, and you left stuck in Asgore's guest room with the last person you want to be sleeping around.

In the dark, your eyes seek out Alan's figure again, settling on the freckles of the relaxed face of your crush as he snoozes belly up with his lips only slightly parted and an arm stretched out to the side entirely. He looks like he's having the best sleep of his life, though you can hardly fathom why considering the revelation of Libby's witchcraft. His shirt is pulled up slightly at the hem, revealing a small amount of his slim toned belly and peeking 'V' line from his jeans. This entire view of Alan so unguarded, would probably have made you laugh if he was still a "nice guy" in your eyes, but...

...

... _Okay, it's still kind of funny, but no way am I going to let myself smile about it._

Despite that thought process, you still grab the edge of your pillow and shove the fluffy thing over your mouth to quell your growing smile and red cheeks, quickly choosing to turn away before the stupid boy breaks your resolve to hate him anymore.

_You rotten jerk, stop being so... So freaking attractive-!_

You grit your teeth once the smile fades, glaring daggers at the wall opposite of you. Now you're facing the part of the pillow Flowey is concealed under, but to your relief, none of your movements have woken him up. If he caught you reacting like this to the dumb sleeping mage on the floor, he'd likely never let you live it down. Hell, before you went to bed early, he was still asking when you would "have kids with your murderer". You nearly broke one of the lamps in the room throwing your pillow to strike the flower, and missed the evil little snipe entirely.

Alan had tried talking to you a few times before you excused yourself to bed early as a means of avoiding another conversation with him, but you deflected and attempted ignoring him as much as possible. Mostly done due to your lingering and apparent feelings, which you're quite certain is the only reason he likely  _thinks_ he can talk to you and get on your good side. Shamefully, you yourself are sure that even a measly conversation with him will likely sway you- and you don't _want_ to be swayed. Not like that, at least, and not with everything hanging over your heads.

It was after Alan's third failed attempt to approach you in conversation that Papyrus came up with a question of his own, which had originally died off after the realization no one was getting anywhere with the topic.

"Miss Human... What about the 'Gaster' conundrum?" Papyrus had asked you discreetly as Alan rejoined Asgore at the table, following his failure on getting you to talk to him. At the reminder of Gaster, you'd let out a soft sigh and wrung your hands together, relaxing now that you were with Papyrus and _not_ all high strung with Alan's presence.

At the time, you'd thought the topic of what to do with the stones in Libby's book had been an enjoyable break from the unseen skeletal phantasm and his laundry of problems... _Not._ Of course, at this point, you were well aware that pretending he didn't exist was no longer an option, and pretending that you could turn a blind eye on the problems monsters brought was just a stupid wish. Stupid in the sense that you now knew none of this was  _their_ fault. 

Unfortunately you're  _smack_ in the middle of all these problems with no way out other than to comply. For one, you desperately want the Libby you thought you knew _back._  And secondly, you don't want that _thing_ hurting anyone else like it nearly hurt you, Flowey, and Sans. Thirdly...

Your mind momentarily drifts back to the final static that had entered your mind in the underground, moments before Gaster reluctantly released you from the burden of helping them out. The sadness emanating from them as they slunk back from the recesses of your mind to allow you your space and happiness, even with what you could only assume was something important on the line. They were just so... So _sad..._

Guilty of your choice in the matter, you angle your face up to the window peeking over the bed to think to yourself again.

_I'm not a hero in any sense of the word,_ you think to yourself defensively, wrapping your arms around yourself. 

Even just thinking about Papyrus as an honest-to-god friend of yours is odd, and you bite your lip to stop a mild smile of delight from appearing across your lips. Now is neither the proper time nor the place for smiling- not with the compilation of issues stacked on your plate.

_Get back on track._  

"Miss Human... I know you are concealing your face and smiling about how lucky you are to have a magnificent friend such as myself, but-" Papyrus had stated when you'd been having similar thoughts at the time of his query, right before a soft snort of incredulous laughter had managed to slip from you. You'd almost forgotten that you'd achieved _soul force_ with Papyrus too, giving him the ability to get a sense of your feelings on matters on a level far more complex than regular humans could achieve.

You'd opened your mouth to answer him, but as you were about to tell him you'd actually like to talk about this with maybe Sans here as well- a memory had come crashing down before your eyes, prompting you to inhale sharply instead. It had been loud enough to make Asgore and Alan glance your way, but rather than include them in the conversation, you ended up grabbing Papyrus wrist and charging for the front door. 

"We'll be back!" You'd initially blurted out before either of the two could have a say in the matter, swinging open the front door with Papyrus' wrist held captive. Just as you were blasted in the face with a comforting autumn breeze, you'd halted in surprise at the sight of Toriel and Frisk standing side-by-side at the doorway holding bags of groceries, with the tall female monster holding a key up in the air as if meaning to use it on a lock that was no longer in front of her.

"Oh? Are you leaving already?" She'd asked you in surprise while you shook off your disturbance to nod quickly in confirmation. Frisk had looked absolutely destroyed by your words, and gaped up at you incredulously, just before pouting their lips and crossing their arms in the opposite direction. Based on their little conversation before they'd went to the market to get groceries, it most likely had to do with Toriel basically not allowing them to hear about the situation you went through regarding your survival after falling off of a cliff.

_I'll tell you later, I promise, Wonder Kid,_ you think to yourself, as you snuggle into the pillows more, guilt at their expression still eating away hours past the initial time they'd made it.

Toriel had easily moved aside to let you and Papyrus pass, having to pull the stubborn Wonder Kid out of the way to let you walk out. You still wince at the amount of salt etched across Frisk's face, but at the time tried to ignore it and continued with dragging Papyrus past them, not adding anything else despite Toriel's obvious concern and confusion at your hasty retreat.

"M-Miss Human?" Papyrus had asked as soon as you had reached your car. Only once you were out of earshot with the others did you finally turn to face him with a desperate expression of abject horror, a shadow crawling over your features.

"Paps. I left something _extremely_ important at my home. Where Libby is. Who is a witch. And who would likely kill me if she's as crazy of a murderer as I suspect she is after what I saw in her bedroom," you'd stated carefully, stressing every reason for your behavior as you stared up at the tall skeleton standing stock still before you. "I need to know- do you have the exact same skill set as Sans and can _you_ teleport too?"

Papyrus had slightly faltered in surprise as he tried to speak up, visibly planning his answer in the back of his mind. At this point, since his expression was twisting up with unease and consideration, you were already expecting to hear a "No" or an "I don't know", prompting you to ease back on your heels and sigh with resignation. Just as it was looking like you were going to have to find and _beg_ Sans for both his forgiveness on multiple matters as well as his help on getting his notebook back from the couch behind your home though...

"I do..." Papyrus somewhat mumbled with clear discomfort, making you lift your head immediately in shock. However, before you could get your hopes smashing through the roofs, he added, "But I do not use it."

You had faltered entirely at that, half shaking your disbelief off as you stared up at Papyrus with a somewhat confused expression. He can teleport but he chooses not to use it...? He walks and runs around everywhere- why would he choose to do all that needless movement over the ability to blink in and out of existence from wherever he chooses? Naturally, this answer of his made no sense whatsoever, and I was quick to point it out to him.

"...Why not?" You asked as cordially as you could, considering you'd been completely derailed in your plans over this news. 

"Because!" Papyrus had blurted out, crossing his skeletal arms over his battle body indignantly. "If I start teleporting to get around the surface, I might end up as lazy as Sans! That is a very high risk for such a rounded power as teleporting! Imagine how much weight Sans could shed if he just stopped teleporting for one afternoon! He'd rise up in greatness second only to me!"

_I remember this part,_ you think to yourself as you shove your face in the pillow, smiling wide with lingering giggles you quell as you recall the conversation following this claim of Papyrus.

Your eyebrows had knit together in response, lips twitching at the corner as you replayed an even older conversation from the past between you an Papyrus.

"I thought Sans was already only second to you in greatness?" You'd mentioned, watching Papyrus nod in agreement.

"Indeed he is! But among those in greatness second to me, Sans is only number three."

You blink in confusion. "...You have more than one person in greatness second to y-?"

"Miss Human, I have an elaborate system! My brother is third place in being second to me in greatness, and second place in being second to me in greatness is where Frisk falls!"

At the time, you'd almost face palmed at how ridiculous his explanation was getting, but proceeded anyways since you needed to lighten up the mood a little after so much seriousness going on.

"Alright... Well, who's first place in being second to you in greatness then?" You'd inquired, immediately considering Undyne to be it- that is, until Papyrus shifted to hook an arm around your shoulders with a blinding smile your way.

"Why, my adorable and resilient Miss Human, _that's_ who!" Papyrus had responded so openly without hesitation, causing a flurry of wild emotions of pure elation to run across your entire body. The response was such a flattering one that even your reasoning to keep a straight face and stay tough like a bear melted away to make you gape in disbelief and throw your arms around the tall skeleton dedicated to being your friend throughout all the shit you'd put him through. Much to your disbelief, tears prick at the corners of your eyes, but you can't bring yourself to wipe them away. It seemed like doing so would be betraying Papyrus- betraying the friendship you'd built with him over such a short span of time.

The monster that gave you a chance, among many horrible choices and tantrums on your part.

"Aw, Miss Human, do not weep! I will not go anywhere! Friends do not do that, according to my Best Friend Handbook! And if I am to triumph against Undyne at this fight for your hand in the greatest of friendships, I must go over and out with my executions in camaraderie!"

...?

"...But not as far as to teleport me in this secret mission to retrieve an important item from my home?" You'd pointed out before his eye sockets bugged out in slight uneasiness and guilt.

"...Well, actually... I might reconsider for a wonderful human such as yourself... IfIcouldeventeleportproperlyinthefirstplace!" Papyrus had blurted out quickly, causing you to pull back from the hug and look up at him in confusion. He'd said it fast, but you had caught every word anyways.

"Okay, so you can teleport, just not properly?" You'd asked to get him to elaborate.

And elaborate he did.

"W-well, say I were to teleport us to a specific location right now! Presumably, to that immaculate beach where we shared that extraordinary dance together during the start of the better half of our fantastic date! ...I could not promise that we would land on the sand like Sans could. We might land over the shallows and dirty our shoes! We might land in the deeper water of the ocean! Or worse, we might land in between one of the walls at that tasty restaurant we ate at and- well, you know. Not be alive anymore."

You'd gone pale at the idea of landing smack in a wall like that, arm and leg dangling from one side of a wall while Papyrus dusted automatically as a result. What a horrible way to go...!

"So yes, I have the ability to teleport. Admittedly, however, I am not at Sans' skill level. He has suggested teaching me, but again, I refuse to risk the possibility of becoming a lethargic sloth bucket like him!" Papyrus had finished, prompting you to sigh and nod in understanding.

You'd never push him to do something that could endanger himself- nor would you push him to do something uncomfortable either. Besides, there was still Sans that you could pray and beg for help to. Hopefully, Asgore was right about the short skeleton holding you in a better light than before. You would sooner drop dead at the mere sight of his magic blue eye trained on you with malignant intent.

"...I'll have to ask Sans then tomorrow," you'd made your final resolve, just as Papyrus started jumping up and down in gleeful excitement, eye sockets wide with hyper energy.

"Oh! I CANNOT WAIT TO TELL SANS ABOUT THIS TONI-!" Papyrus had started to say, until an idea sparked in your mind and you immediately held up a hand to calm the energetic skeleton down. He'd faltered at the sight of your expression and hand, right before raising a brow bone in question. "Miss Human, what is it?"

"Don't tell Sans I'm alive yet," you'd stated, a small grin forming across you lips as your brain took to formulating a plan.

"What?! But he would be so happy to hear it! Why not?" Papyrus had asked incredulously, before you turned to look up at him with a sly grin of amusement.

Just cause you almost died as a result of very bad circumstances... Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with the fact that everyone currently thinks you're dead. After all, with all this high stress over these puzzling matters? You _need_ a good laugh before you go get that notebook back from the witch's lair.

Papyrus own expression had slowly twisted into a grin of equal amusement and growing excitement, prompting him to sort of vibrate with eager glee and snicker to himself like a school boy as a result of another shared moment over your soul force bond with him.

In bed at the guest bedroom of Asgore's home, you press a hand to your mouth to hide your sly grin of smug excitement. 

Before tomorrow possibly got bad, you'd make the most of your entrance back to Biology class with Sans. You'll make an entrance that Sans will never forget-

And one you hope _Clayton_ won't forget either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make this chapter a bit of a recap and a slow start since the last season was a bit complex! :D Hope you guys still like it though! And no worries, next week will bring about a new chapter! And the next week, _another_ new chapter! And another! And ANOTHER~!
> 
> ^w^
> 
> Welcome back to the show~!
> 
> Also, during the downtime, we've gotten some fanart from some amazingly wonderful artists!!!! (if there are some pieces that I'm forgetting to put it, please let me know and I'll add them! I'm gonna be on the lookout too in case I've forgotten some~!)
> 
> We have updated version of [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/), with an additional piece of art to it, and a brand new piece, [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)! :D
> 
> Thank you so much for the art!!! They're all awesome and I love you guys so much for enjoying this story so, so much! ;w; I'm gonna make this season two AWESOME!
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)  
> 


	46. Organization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Sans finally talk properly about what happened. Along the spectrum of mysteries surrounding Ebott Creek, it seems like witches aren't the only thing you need to worry about.

Chapter 46: Organization

 

**(One Week Post Cliffdive - A.K.A. Present Time)**

Seated at your table with a wry grin playing on your lips at the memory of Sans absolutely entertaining expression of disbelief and bewilderment at the sight of you entering in such pristine and healthy condition, you continue filling up your class worksheet beside Betsy, the rabbit monster humming softly to herself as the three of you do separate segments of tests on the group lab project for the day. Throughout the entire excercise, Sans seems physically incapable of tearing his gaze from you, the starstruck look of shock lingering on his face even while doing the most complex and important parts of the project- like measuring fluids and mixing beakers. Somehow, all the while staring at you nonstop, he still manages to do all of his part flawlessly. You're almost jealous of this ability of his, but your amusement over that astounded fish-like expression on his skeletal face makes up for it.

"Sans, I've been meaning to ask, but..." Betsy starts as the two of you turn to face Sans, who is taking yours and Betsy's calculations on mixture amounts and analystics of certain aspects of the lab all the while still staring at you up and down curiously. Through Betsy's words, he tosses the pages of the lab on his table behind him and proceeds to mix certain fluids to create an exact replica of the teacher's expectations with the lab, not tearing his eyes away from you to even glance at the calculated measurements you and Betsy have solved for him. Did he do the freaking math in his head? Hell, what does he even need us here for...? "...Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Her words bring about a smile forming on your face, but you bite down hard on your lip and slap your palm quickly against your mouth to resist making a snort or laugh at the irony of her words.

Sans finally blinks and look at Betsy as a result of her voiced concerns, but casts you another look when he notices you trying not to laugh behind the rabbit monster. Eventually, the skeleton cracks a bit of a smile of his own, though it is visibly strained and forced for the most part.

"I _feel_ like I've seen a ghost too," Sans says, giving you a meaningful look as you do your best to stop from making a sound. This is getting a little ridiculous even for you, and you put a hand up to sign to Sans, **"I'll tell you after class ends. I need your help anyways."**

The sight of Sans perking up at your signs causes a slight stir of curiosity in your mind, but you try not to focus on it just yet. At the immediate moment in time, you've returned to class- and as a result, you need to work as if nothing has happened for the time being. You can worry about everything else as soon as you're done with this...

_Like worry about whether Clayton will make a beeline for me as soon as the professor dismisses us,_  you think to yourself, with a slight grimace, making sure not to let either of the others see it by turning away to examine the front board of the classroom covered with notes. _He's going to want to try his hand at killing me again since he still doesn't know I'm not a witch. Likely, he won't believe any rhetoric I give him to think otherwise, so maybe it's best I just leave him thinking it. Besides... I don't want him going anywhere near Libby until we've sorted things out. I don't want her to die._

_I want to believe she's still redeemable somehow... I want to know why she would choose the path of witchcraft if she had everything already from the get go. Asgore said witches do the craft because they want something, right? Well... What in the world could she want? And if everything else he said is true, how can we sever the link between her and that "higher power" that will kill her if she leaves or becomes useless?_

"(Name)? You're zoning out on us," Betsy says as she appears to your left from out of nowhere, making you turn your head to face her as you paste a reasonable smile to ease her concern.

"Ah, sorry about that... Just thinking about the things I need to deal with after being gone for so long," You explain easily, having already given an alibi you and Flowey constructed prior to keep the true reason of your absence under wraps. "So much can happen in a week, you know? Hell, even just in a day..."

Betsy gives you a smile of understanding, rubbing your back gently and turning to help Sans with whatever he may need help with. Never the less, as soon as you turn around, Sans quickly darts his eye lights from you to focus on the lab worksheet, however not moving fast enough that you don't notice and grin at the fact that he's still starstruck by your living presence. Betsy seems to catch this too, and leers at the back of his skull before turning to meet your gaze with a wry grin that you immediately frown and shake your head at firmly. Just the insinuation of Sans possibly staring at you out of infatuation is preposterous... He hated you more than a week ago- and although he seemed to cool down before you "died, you doubt there is any possible way he'd ever look at you for any reason like _that_. He'd made it clear already that he isn't attracted to humans.

You respect that- you're not attracted to skeletons either. 

"...Alright, that's that class! Start cleaning up the tables and dump your beakers! Don't forget to put all your names on the worksheet and turn it in before you leave. If you end up taking it home, your group will get a zero, so _make sure_  you're leaving it here!"

At this point, you risk a glance back at Clayton, feeling your stomach spin only a little when you find him glaring at you from across the room with obvious malignant intent. You know now why he would want to off a witch so bad, and turn away when you recall the state of Libby's bedroom. 

Regardless, you remain firm on your stance with murder. There _has_ to be another way to stop Libby from killing, and keep her from being killed as a result!

At this point you notice Clayton moving to take his worksheet up to the front for his group. Seeing this, you boldly pluck the worksheet from Sans before he can go up himself, not looking to see his expression as you march up to the front, stop beside Clayton, and slap the page on top of his worksheet- as well as his hand. As if realizing you're there, Clayton turns and the two of you freeze, locking eyes in a glare laden with tension that is almost palpable within the biology lab.

It's so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in the silence of the students that look from you to Clayton and back in confusion. Unbeknownst to them, they might assume this to be a lovers' dispute. Maybe the result of a one night stand or drama of any ordinary kind... Likely a million other things except for the truth, that being the fact that this jackass had the nerve to corner you and try to kill you with his stupid cousin.

...Sure, that stupid cousin that you were stuck carpooling to school with despite Asgore's several assurances that he trusted Alan not to do anything after looking into his soul, but still a stupid cousin nonetheless. A stupid cousin with a stupid face of stupid freckles and stupid chocolate brown eyes.

_Stupid Alan._

You grin slightly after you've decided the silence has gone on long enough, pulling your hand back and shrugging at the glaring tall ash blonde male built well enough that you assume he could swat you away with just the weight of his right arm.

"Sorry. Hand slipped," you brush the moment off easily as if it were something insignificant, ignoring the majority of the class and their whispering as you turn to walk back to a surprised Betsy and a wide eyed, horrified and frazzled skeleton behind her that is clutching at the front of his jacket like he's about to have a heart attack despite not even having a heart. Was he really _that_ scared for you approaching Clayton like that?

"Um... What was that about? Did he do something?" Betsy asks once you return and start gathering your belongings into your backpack, giving you a moment to think about how to answer before you realize you need to enjoy just one more joke before you walk out and all hell breaks loose.

"Let's just say that Clayton... **Dumped me** about a week ago," you answer, only mildly stressing the ironic part of the statement and peeking back to see if Sans' got it.

As you eyes land on him, he is already in the process of throwing his head back and facepalming with both hands. You make one last smile before you sling the strap over your shoulder and reach out to grab one of his wrists, pulling it towards you and slipping your hand in his to tug him forward from the desk.

"Anyways, Sans and I actually have some important things to deal with right now, so I'll email you later on, alright?" You say to her kindly, smiling as she nods in response. With that settled, you start pulling Sans along towards the exit. A peek back into the classroom gives you a sting of alarm as you see Clayton striding over after you as you move to leave, causing you to speed up just a bit as you yank Sans out of the classroom.

Once you're in the hall, you spin around and face him with urgency in your eyes. To your immediate surprise, he expertly adjust his grip around _your_ wrist and tugs you towards him as if thinking the same exact thing, making you grab onto his jacket tightly as he activates his magic and teleports the both of you out of there with little to no hesitation. The world spins for only a second, before you find yourself standing beside an alley into an eatery with the billboard reading "Grillby's" along it. You've got no clue where this is or anything, but considering it's the place Sans has brought you to, it's likely somewhere private enough where the two of you can talk. You trust his judgement, considering you _know_ he wants answers.

You're just about to pull away from him when his arms envelope around you tightly and press you hard against him in a hug, immediately setting off your mental red flags due to how out of character it is. Before you can utter a word though, you feel him exhale deeply and relax entirely around you, making you shut your mouth and fall silent as your nerves settle in response. His guard is down... He's just relieved to see you? Did your supposed death really affect him like Papyrus and Asgore said? You honestly didn't believe the two at first, but...

When Sans finally pulls away from you, he takes a step back and throws his hands out to gesture wildly at you with a look of pure confusion. This is your cue to start explaining for yourself, but... You still have something to say about another issue between the two of you.

"Before I explain, there's something _else_ I need to tell you. About what happened Underground..." You begin, watching as the skeleton pauses and gives you a strange look. Does he not remember what you did? How? _You_ haven't stopped thinking about it. It's been haunting you for a while since you first woke up with the idea that you'd have to speak to him up front about everything. "When I left you in Waterfall. By yourself. With no energy to defend against anything that might have come across you. Remember?"

Sans makes a sour face and grunts, swinging a hand up dismissively with mild irritation. "I don't care about that! Not like I was gentleman of the year or anything anyways! You're freaking back from the dea-!" He starts, before you reach over and smack his arm with offense.

"Yeah, well _I_ care about it, so the least you can do is listen!" You bark back quickly to shut him up, watching as the skeleton deflates in surrender, sighing and crossing his arms as he waits for you to get on with what you need to say. "...I shouldn't have left you. No matter how shitty you were being at the time- it was wrong to just leave you for that thing to find and deal with."

A beat of silence passes, but Sans soon adds, "You wouldn't have gone far dragging me along the way I was."

"I wasn't thinking about _that_ at the time- That's the point!" You snap heatedly, noticing Sans flinch slightly at your scalding words. As the fire that's boiled the blood in your veins cools off, you continue on, looking down at your hands as you concentrate on getting the right words you want to say out. "I left you there knowing full well what could happen. Heck, I almost _hoped_ it would happen! And All because I decided that everything going on wrong in my life was the fault of _monsters._  It was a stupid thing to do and a stupid thing to think. I _know_ none of it is the fault of your species. I just let everything get to me again and tried to find an excuse for it, like always..."

You trail off and look back up at Sans, who is standing there looking at you with a peculiar expression on his skeletal features. You're well aware that your guilt is rising to the surface in the form of tears, and you do your best to keep them at bay in the corners of your eyes.

"...I'm sorry for what I did. I'm _really_ sorry. It's not enough for me to say that, but if I could go back to that moment... I wouldn't leave you there like that. I don't like you, but that doesn't mean you deserve to _die."_

Sans' eye lights flash momentarily, but after a second of silence following your utmost heartfelt apology for your transgressions Underground, he eventually cracks a bit of a smile and breaks into a chuckle of disbelief, reaching up to rub the back of his skull and look in a different direction in obvious embarrassment from the way his cheekbones flush a soft shade of blue.

"Wow. The two of us... We have a  _really_ messed up relationship, don't we? I mean... You shouldn't even be apologizing at all. I put you through a mountain of pure torture and shit just because Libby told me some lie about you wanting to dust a monster for the experience! I was a jerk, I didn't stop to think twice about what I was doing- I hardly even know _why_ I was so irritated with you in the first place. I don't know why I didn't question Libby, considering I'd only recently met her at the time as well. It was almost like... Being a puppet to my emotions."

You perk up at the choice in his words, blinking as you listen to his side of the apology, scanning his words and waiting for him to say more.

_A "puppet" to his emotions...?_

"For all I know, Libby could have asked me to dust myself at the time, and I probably would have without a second thought! I let myself get carried away. (Name)... I'm sorry too. For letting myself do all that crap to you before. For jumping to conclusions and not making a better attempt to stop myself from scaring you and victimizing you in such a way," Sans finishes, while you frown and stare at the ground as you analyze his words even more.

_Hardly knowing why he was irritated in the first place... Getting carried away after Libby fed him a lie...!_

_...!_

**_THE SPELL BOOK._ **

You feel your eyes widen and turn away to conceal your expression of disbelief and shock as the pieces of the puzzle fit together. He wasn't as mean when you first sent him a message after that "wrong number" debacle... He was funny. He warned you not to hurt his brother, but other than that, he even had admitted that you sounded like an interesting human. Someone worth his time. Then when you met at the hospital, he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with you at all. So is it safe to assume that maybe...?

"Um... When was it that you started having such, er... _Strong_ hatred for me?" You inquire as casually as possible, biting your lip as you peek over your shoulder at him curiously.

"Wha-? Oh. Uh... Probably a day after-" 

"After I messaged you thinking you were Paps?" You interject, watching as Sans slowly leers at you suspiciously for your interruption. Shit. Not only does that expression mean you've hit the nail on the mark, but that he knows you know something now! What do you say to him? What if he tries to go off and kill Libby himself?! How much of him was harrassing you and how much of it was the dumb fucking hexes Libby put on him?! Should you consult with Asgore before you say anything? Or will Sans take offense to that and start harassing you again?

Your heart kicks up a notch as you turn away and press your fingers into your forehead. Holy moly, this is a trainwreck...!

Switch topics! 

You turn around in time to see Sans falter in a step to approach you, quickly moving back as if nervous you'll be angry for his sneaky advancement. Rather than give it recognition, you approach him on your own, leaving a reasonable amount of space between you. It's closer than you've ever willingly stood by his side, as most of the times you were this close in the past were times _he_ approached- mostly to annoy you and/or to show you that your personal space didn't exist.

"Okay, so to start from the top now that we've poured our hearts out to one another like saps-" You start, noting the quirk of his mouth as he quietly waits for you to continue. You know him well enough that he's not likely to forget or skip over the fact that you've omitted details of the previous topic about his emotions, but pray he won't bring it up until _after_ you've spoken to Asgore or Toriel about what to tell him. "I'll go ahead and tell you how I survived from the fall."

Sans demeanor immediately goes sober with the mention of the incident, but you continue on since you're short on time and don't know how Libby's work schedule is after your "death".

"I hit a rock or two on the way down, and landed on a boulder at the bottom, but... It turns out I just heal up and mend myself back together when I submerge my injuries in water. It happened a few times while I was Underground being chased by that creature, so... When I realized you and Undyne weren't going to be able to protect me-" Sans winces at this part, shoving his hands in his pocket with a guilty grimace. "-I figured I'd have a better chance surviving if I jumped, since there was so much water down there. Only drawback was that the healing process ended up taking longer since I turned into a crushed pancake of blood and guts on a rock at the bottom."

The skeleton before you twists his face up in disgust at your descriptive words. "I didn't look to see. I've seen human gore before and... I don't do well with it. You guys look better intact."

You roll your eyes and let out a chuckle alongside a huff of mild amusement. "Gee, thanks, but I think that's popular opinion among society anyways."

Sans narrows his eye lights and casts a wry smile your way, this time allowing it to widen to it's usual size. "Oh really? Who's the one that picked that gore-comedy _Zombieland_ for us to watch during our group sleepover before?"

You purse your lips, giving him an indignant leer as you keep your salt wall up. "Undyne."

"Undyne said she picked _Drag me to Hell."_

"Alphys."

"Alphys definitely picked the horror anime we couldn't get to- and if you say Papyrus picked _Zombieland,_ I definitely won't believe you. He looked like he was going to shrivel up to dust every time I saw him looking at the boxart."

Your wall breaks and you start giggling when Sans laughs, the two of you sharing grins midst your bubbly amusement.

... _This is nice_ , you think as your laughter finally comes to a slow halt, lifting your eyes to look at where Sans plays with his jacket pockets casually, his eye lights shifting towards Grillby's restaurant for a moment. Just when you're about to open your mouth and ask if he wants to go in to spend some more time, your smile evaporates. You're not done with this shit yet- _the notebook._

You turn to face Sans again and bite your lip momentarily as he looks up to you from your movement. "I still need your help... Remember that notebook with the, um... 'Super Secret Brother Language' notes you lent me? I never got the chance to read it and it's still at my home since I was healing for the past six days... I was hoping you'd be able to help me go get it."

Sans raises a browbone of confusion.

"Not that I'm gonna say no, 'cause I'm happy to help, but... Why didn't you just grab it on your way out this morning?" He asks, while you fiddle with your skirt nervously.

"I forgot. Something happened and everything went out the window after I got the kitten and all my stuff. I'm staying with Asgore right now since we can't have Libby figuring out that I'm alive," you explain, watching as Sans only grows visibly more inquisitive. You're leaving out a _lot_ of details, that much is obvious. Jeez, when did you start being such a terrible liar anyways? "I can tell you later, but I don't want Libby to find that notebook! The less she knows and the sooner we go get it, the better."

Sans exhales with mild disappointment, but nods, reaching for your hand and prompting you to reach half way until you find yourself pulled in another hug. Looking up at him as the two of you wrap one another in a secure embrace, you're immediately overwhelmed by the intimate proximity, but say nothing on the fact. The two of you have a long way before hugging as friends will become normal... Depending on whether Sans wants to start fresh and work on a possible friendship, of course.

...Or Depending on whether _you_ want to ever be Sans' friend in the future. 

_Don't disregard his actions entirely. Forgive him but be wary. You don't know how much of his outbursts and malignance was the stones fault or his own fault. For now, everything seems safe, but always keep your guard up,_ you remind yourself, taking a deep breath before Sans fires up his magic.

In an instant, the two of you blink out of existence from beside Grillby's, leaving no trace of your presence as a result.

* * *

 

_Click-click-click..._

_..._

Next file.

_Click-click-click..._

... 

This one.

"Sir, please take a look at this one that was submitted yesterday."

A printer sputters loudly before whirring to life, taking immediate action to print out a page of notes scanned into a computer and faxed to the institution. As the last of the document finishes printing, the pink digital signature of one _Royal Scientist Alphys_  appears at the lower left hand corner, the owner of the document more or less unaware of just who exactly reads the files she submits to the company helping her studies and trials.

A woman collects the files and staples them together before handing them to her boss, more members of the team she is a part of pausing as they stop their computer investigations to see just what their teammate has found. The sound of mouse clicks come to a dead halt, saturating the tech room in silence as the boss looks over the notes from one of their many unsuspecting lower-chain workers.

"...Impressive. A two hundred capacity soul trait total," the man says out loud, reaching up to stroke the brown and white stranded goatee of hair at his chin as he makes note of the lab subject and their name. "This is an anomaly if I've ever seen one."

"Right, sir. One among the many we're already currently looking into."

A beat of silence passes before most of the other members of her team turn away to return to their work, filling the office with the sound of typing and mouse clicks. The woman's boss hums in understanding, looking up from the pages to meet her casual gaze.

"Add it to the list and send someone to look into this woman. How are we doing with the other case on the 'Witch of Portway Street'?" 

"She's yet to do anything else since she attacked the sexual predator the other night, but due to her carelessness, we didn't have to dig at all to find out where she lives. She lead the watcher right to her home. Due to confining herself in her home, there's little information on her at the moment, other than her identity and the fact that she's recently lost her adopted sister, who went missing a week ago and is presumed dead from a fall off some cliffs. It's unclear whether the girl was the cause of her sister's death at the moment, and we're not sure what type of anomaly we are dealing with yet in her case."

The man nods appreciatively, handing the file back to the female employee with a beam of pride towards the woman.

"Very well. As soon as you determine what she is, write a report and send it up to me. Good work, Salazar. You truly make an excellent undercover sheriff, especially with those sharp eyes of yours."

Amelia Salazar, Ebott Creek and St. Ebott City's sheriff, smiles back at the man, nodding and taking the file back. "I aim to please, sir."

* * *

 

** Pop! **

The world falls into place around you.

"Well..." You blink your eyes, but are otherwise fine and not at all dizzy as you look around your old place with your curious hues for any change. "Here we are," Sans says, allowing you to pull away from him and look around the house once more. The disarray hasn't changed whatsoever, still as dirty and disorganized as when you first arrived yesterday. Nothing has been cleaned, and it hardly looks as if anything has been touched... Other than the new nearly finished box of Chinese take out left open on the table in the kitchen, now swarmed with ants. Looks like Libby brought it in last night to eat it and then ended up not caring enough to save the rest for later.

You peek up at Sans to see his reaction at the mess, watching as his eye lights scan the house curiously with obvious surprise.

"...What the hell happened in here?" He asks after a moment. By the look on his face, it's obvious he _knows_ how the inside of your house ought to look like, considering he's hung around Libby long enough that he should have noticed her OCD tendencies. You smell that awful scent of death and cringe slightly, the only sign that Sans smells it as well being the way his body seems to rigidly tense up as soon as the odor hits the two of you full force. He's strangely silent about it though, and simply turns to look down at you with guarded confusion. 

Something in his eye lights tells you he _knows_ the scent without having to go look into Libby's bedroom, and you shiver with mild fear at the implications of this small detail. Sans possibly knowing the scent of death is _not_ a comforting thought.

"Don't worry about it at the moment, I'll explain when I get the notebook and we scram out of here to Asgore's place," You say firmly, turning away to start walking to the living room couch, which is covered in fluffy blankets. It's obvious Libby has been sleeping here since she reported you missing.

A door opens, and you feel your heart nearly jump out from your chest with horror. Almost immediately, your brain scrambles for the possible consequences you might have to face as a result of being caught alive and in the house by the only person that could _probably_ be in here- _Libby._

First thought: _She's going to kill us._

Your blood turns ice cold at the thought, and you straighten up, jumping back over to Sans in case the two of you need to make a quick escape. He reaches for your arm on impulse as soon as you're within grabbing distance as you turn to face the door which opens- that being Libby's bedroom door. The unexpected sight makes your muscles freeze in place as you look up and meet a pair of sharp green eyes, which stare back at you with surprise as you and Sans stand by the front door quietly. 

...

"Who... Are _you_ supposed to be?" Sans asks carefully, narrowing his eye lights on the lean man pulling Libby's bedroom door closed the rest of the way after a moment of silence, more or less indifferent to yours and Sans presence as he lets his eyes slide over to look at you. 

He's got short pale brown hair, and pale tannish complexion pale lips pulling up slightly as he stares you dead in the eye and fixes the position of his backpack. He's got on a strange outfit, a black tee shirt with silver hemming around the sleeves, collar, and the bottom of the shirt. He's got on some black charcoal gray cargo pants with black pockets and silver buttons, all pockets visibly puffed with unknown contents. Something about the way he eyes you with interest makes your skin crawl, and you resist the urge to look away.  You don't feel at all comforted- not even with Sans' presence beside you.

The man doesn't answer Sans at all, taking a step forward towards the two of you. A pang of fear runs across your body and you instinctively move closer to the only protection you have- Sans- as the stranger takes another step closer. All your nerves are telling you that the two of you need to get out of here _right now,_ and yet you can't bring yourself to open your mouth to tell Sans this. He doesn't seem like he's about to mo-

Just when you think he's about to finish walking over towards you- the man pulls out something, and the popping sound of a released bullet makes you shriek with surprise. The shot is so startling that you hardly even notice what's happened. Before you can get your bearings, the man charges you and Sans, slamming his elbow straight in to the skeleton's chest and shoving the two of you straight out of the way. You grunt as you tumble to the side, stumbling over both your own and Sans' feet as you crumble over yourself. As you and Sans struggle to right and collect yourselves, the man easily bypasses you and opens the door, running out and slamming the door behind himself. The picture frames around the living room shake to the sound, and you gasp for the air that's been knocked out of you, pulling yourself up to your knees before looking around in case there's anyone else there prepared to knock you and Sans over a second time.

_"Who_ was _that?"_ You hear Flowey whisper with audible bewilderment, making you reach up and brush your fingers along his leaves to see if he's okay. 

"No idea..." You murmur back to him. As soon as you feel his leaf flick back against your hand, you inhale deeply and reach back to lock the door in case that crazy guy comes back.

_It was a gunshot,_  your brain registers suddenly with horrifying clarity, prompting you to scramble back on your behind as you look around your body furiously to see if there are any entrance or exit wounds. When you find nothing, you pause and look up at Libby's bedroom door, where the strange man once came out from. If you were a caught in someone's house and you saw a human and a skeleton monster, which one would you be more worried about?

You spin around in horror and crawl over to where Sans is now sitting up, groaning and rubbing the back of his skull with a cringe of pain.

"Ow... Well, that's one way to **rattle** a skeleton's bones," He grumbles much to your relief. Rather than ask, you reach over and pull at his jacket to slide it off of his shoulders, immediately prompting the skeleton to stiffen up once he realizes what you're doing. He garbles in panic as you lift the sides of his jacket, cheek bones staining an electric blue and eye lights pinching to small white dots. For the most part, however, he doesn't try to stop you in your investigations, despite his obvious discomfort at how you pull at his clothes and turn his head to see if he's been shot anywhere or anything.

Just when you're about to blow a breath of relief, you notice something small, orange and feathered within his shirt, stuck in one of his inner ribs as you peer down boldly. Upon inspection, you spot a small hole in the front of his shirt, just barely noticeable from the folds of his shirt's fabric.

"(N-Name), I'm just going to let you know this now, but this is _really_ inappropriate among skeleton monsters, so-!" Sans starts, moving to shift away until you forcibly tug the lower hem of his shirt up, reaching in through the underside of his ribcage with zero concern about his claims. Honestly, there's a possibility he's been shot, and he's worried about his prudency? Did he not hear the gunshot, or what?! How is he not writhing in pain right now anyways? He's awfully durable, in that case... **"(NAME)?!"**

"Be quiet, it'll be over soon," you snap, fingers grazing the back of his spine and making his back arch. The sound of his breath hitching sharply makes you look up momentarily, since it almost sounds like he's getting somewhat... 

_"That's not a comforting thought!"_  He replies, pressing back hard against the wall behind himself and snapping his eye sockets shut as if to find some sort of immediate escape from your touch.

Oh. Oh, he's definitely getting turned on... Probably only from you touching an erogenous zone. Not that you're too concerned, nothing past being mildly embarrassed by his reaction, but in exchange of getting what's stuck on him, you proceed anyways until your fingers find the foreign object in his upper ribs. As your finger tip brushes the object, Sans falls immediately silent, flinching and snapping his jaw shut with a loud click of his bones.

"Sans, how do you feel?" You ask, hand still stuck completely up his ribcage and resting along his heavily expanding and contracting bones. He gives you a sarcastic look, raising his arms and gesturing to his ribcage with a _'really?"_ expression pasted to his skeletal features.

"How do I _'feel'?_ **Violated,"**  he answers you forwardly, though he still does nothing to yank your hand from out of his ribs. "What are you even doing?!"

"Sans, there was a gunshot. And _I'm_ fine. There's something inside _your_ ribcage," you finally clarify, fingering the object again. Sans trembles more, frowning with annoyance but obviously making an effort to not snap back. 

"We were supposed to teleport, but it didn't work..." Sans states, before taking a deep breath and nodding his head at you. "Pull it out."

You don't waste time obeying, plucking the object from his rib and making him yelp loudly at the unexpected exit of the pointed material. Retracting your hand from inside of his ribcage and allowing Sans his personal space by pulling his shirt back down over the strange array of bare bones you never thought you'd _actually_ see- from either Sans or Papyrus- you bring the small orange item up, pushing the small feathers aside to reveal the small pinkie nail sized glass and metal reinforced tube within the small needle tipped bullet.

"Shit, I think there was something in this thing," you state, looking back over to Sans and making him slam back quickly against the wall with a hand up to stop you in case you get frisky with your hands again. "I'm not gonna do that again, I just thought you got... I mean, well, you _did_ get shot, but..."

You trial off, feeling your own cheeks warm up a little as you shake the rest of your words off and pull yourself up on your feet. Like a good samaritan, you reach down and offer your own hand to him, pushing a lock of your bangs behind your ear as you wait for him to take it.

Sans gives you a dry look, but takes your hand anyways, letting out a small exhale of resignation as he stands up with your help. "...Sorry again," you say, pulling your hand out of his quickly and handing him the bullet that'd been lodged in his ribs and shaking your head at it in confusion. "I'm not sure what he shot you with."

"Hm," Sans hums, before looking around the room and then frowning at one of the chairs in concentration. "I can't use my magic."

You blink in confusion. "What? Like... Your magic is gone or something?"

"No, it's there. Jus' that I can't manipulate it for some reason," he explains, before turning to face you. "We're still in here. Grab what you need so we can get out- 'cause the teleport express is offline for the time being."

You swallow thickly but turn to jog into the living room, pushing the couch away from the wall to reach the notebook you've left there. 

"Oh no..." You murmur when you don't see the notebook immediately, falling down to your knees to look under the couch entirely for any sign that it might have folded and gone under a little more. When you realize it's not there either, you charge for your room and start moving things around in search for it. It's while you're looking for the notebook that you slowly come to the realization that your diary is gone as well, making you throw your pillows around and pull your bed back to look at the ground. "Fuck!"

_Maybe in Libby's room...?_  You think with horror, stopping in your search to consider this. The idea of going in there again, especially with Sans here, makes your stomach turn violently. You'll vomit if you go in there, you're almost sure of it.

_I need that notebook. And I need my diary if she has it. There's too much information I've recorded about myself and the monsters in there. The last thing we need is for Libby to have any kind of ammunition if things go sour later when we confront her on the matter of her witchcraft._

Fuck.

You push off of the bed and turn to exit your room, passing Sans as he stands by your bedroom doorway rubbing the top part of his ribs almost soothingly as if still worked up from your travelling hands. 

"Wait here," you say, marching over to Libby's room. You know that if you stop and think about it, you're going to convince yourself not to go in, so you open the door and slip inside, gagging violently as the smell hits you in one overwhelming blast. You press your back against the door to close it quickly, slapping a hand over your nose and mouth to get a hold of yourself and proceed into the dark room. 

Three things jump out at you immediately. First, the candles have all been lit, illuminating the disgusting figure of the bloody body at the back chained to the floor boards by his wrists and ankles as he sits crosslegged. The goat's head is sown firmly in place along his red stained neck, and he's got his hands in a position you've seen a few times before on the internet in demonic-like images.

The goat in the corner of the room from the left is not moving anymore. It's still headless, but it's body is entirely collapsed for the most part.

"Ugh... This place is _still_ as disgusting as it was when I first saw it..." Flowey mutters, stretching out and looking around with a twisted expression of disgust. "God, it stinks in here!"

As you look around the room, it becomes clear that there's no other objects inside of there- no furniture, no small trinkets other than the candles... Also, the red markings along the floor and the wall have been cleaned off entirely.

"Is his notebook by any chance the color _orange...?"_ Flowey pipes up, leering and shifting forward towards the goat man body ahead.

"No, but my diary is... Why? Do you see it?" I ask quietly, right before Flowey lifts a leaf to point ahead.

"Look in his lap..." Flowey adds, visibly wrinkling his face and looking back at you with pity. " _I'm_ not touching that thing, in case you're going to ask."

Your stomach turns with discomfort and you frown when you see the peeking color of orange just in front of the goat-man's body, making you pull your hand down from your mouth to steel yourself for what you're going to have to do. Regardless of everything, you _need_ your diary. Libby _cannot_ have it in her possessions, not with everything you've made note of.

You walk over slowly to the body, every shred of your being telling you to run away as you keep your eyes glue to the body. The horns on the goat are tipped with red, and you swallow down your nerves to keep yourself moving. If that thing so much as moves forward even a _centimeter,_ you're out of there. 

The gold eyes of the goat stare ahead unblinkingly, dead and glazed with death as they ignore your presence when you bend down... And jump back quickly with your diary quickly, snatching it up like a snake. When nothing lunges forward to attack you and Flowey, the two of you let out breaths of relief.

_Huh?_  You think, noticing how... _Thin_ the book feels in comparison to the other times you've had it. Once you have your back against the door again, you look down and yank the book open, which is missing the lock it usually has to keep it shut. Flipping through the pages, you go pale when you realize a ton of them have been ripped out, making Flowey click his tongue when he sees it.

"Okay, now for the million dollar question... Is it Libby who has the notebook and the missing diary pages? Or that man that was in her room just now?" Flowey points out, causing you to curse under your breath.

It's a lost cause. What you needed isn't here- _It's time to leave._

Sans isn't on the immediate opposite side of the door when you slip out, leaving the candles as they are out of fear for what could possibly happen if you blow them out. You're not touching any of that "voodoo" shit, no _way._ Instead, Sans is sitting on the couch, rubbing the inside of his ribcage with a thoughtful expression. Once you close the door though, he jumps up to his feet and starts to make his way over to you.

That's when you hear the door knob shake.

Yours and Sans' heads snap over to look at the door, making you panic and grab his hand to yank him to your bedroom post haste. You leave the door open only slightly and push your bed back into place, thankful that the wood and metal don't creak when you put it back in place and toss the pillows along the messy comforter and sheets.

"Under the bed?" Sans asks nervously, before you nod and pull him down.

_Who could it be this time?_ You wonder as you push Sans down first, crawing down after him just as you hear the door open entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! :D here's the next segment of Season 2! I hope it's to everyone's liking~! I'm still getting back into the groove of writing, so I'm super self conscious about every chapter I write like I was at the start of writing Bone Appetit! If there are any mistakes, please let me know! ;w;
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> [Buy Me a Cup of Joe? :3](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5)  
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)  
> [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)


	47. Friction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although you and Sans don't hate each other now, there is still much time needed before the two of you reach any level of friendship.

Chapter 47: Friction

 

If someone would have told you a few weeks ago that you would find yourself crammed in a small space with only the last person you'd _ever_ want to be within ten feet of you wouldn't have believed them. Had they told you that you'd even be on good terms with them at the time, you'd have laughed your ass off.

And yet, as you stop moving under the bed and fall silent- flush against Sans' side- all you can do is pray that whoever is entering the house overlooks the many objects moved from their original place during your visit, half hoping it's not Libby despite the fact that another stranger would quite literally be just as bad- if not _worse._

The sound of the front door slamming shut makes you flinch in surprise and your breath hitch, but you make a valiant effort to silence any more mishaps due to the situation. Sans, on the other hand, leaves his eye lights staring at the ground, entirely frozen in place. Heels click against the ground, making their way towards your bedroom door, evidently causing both you and Sans to tense up in unison and cringe back closer towards the back wall where the two of you are less likely to be spotted. Just when you think the door is about to fly open, the clicking heels stop just at your doorway... And stops short of the bedroom door. You feel like a puffer fish with just how much air you've been holding in at the thought of Libby entering your room, but as soon as the bedroom door shuts, you deflate and press your head against the floor with sheer relief.

Looks like she's refraining from entering your room. If it's due to a painful reminder of your "death", you cling to the hope that maybe she can still be rescued from her witchcrafting lifestyle. 

_Halley was a witch too though, one who paid the price... So close to our family, considering the Silverods have been close to the Sterlings for a lot longer than Libby and I have been around. I'm a Sterling, but one originating from outside of the family..._

_...So who's to say the entire lot of wealthy families are in on it? What if all of them are witches? Have I been living among a family of witches this entire time?_

Sans taps your arm, prompting you to lift your head and look at his bright eye lights. He motions upwards and then makes a sign with both hands that has your eyes widening in remembrance. There's a window the two of you can climb out of just over your bed! That's right, how could you have forgotten-

The door opens, and the two of you immediately cringe back with horror, your own stomach flipping wildly as you hear the clicking heels enter your room and eventually get quiet once they meet the carpet of your bedroom.

"...Don't know what to tell you. I was in charge of the stock-  not the _shipment._  If they're gone, that's not on me. Maybe you should be questioning the men you hired! I _offered_ to let some of the staff from the my family department deliver them, but you made such a fuss about using _your_ men! What was I supposed to do, argue you to death? I don't have that kind of time, let alone time to waste it on an insignificant qualm such as that."

Libby takes a seat on the bed, crossing her legs and bouncing a leg on her black heel restlessly. She looks worked up, but is doing a fantastic job at keeping her cool on that business call of hers... Whatever it may be about.

Sans shifts slightly to readjust himself, making you jump in surprise when his hand lands on top of yours. As soon as it touches yours, Sans jumps slightly and pulls it back, offering you an apologetic smile as his cheeks glow a shade of blue that immediately makes you silently flip out and grab his jacket hood to pull it down over his face. Last thing you need is the idiot glowing so brightly that he gives away your presence under the bed to Libby!

The skeleton flails slightly before falling still, hood still covering his entire face as the blue glow seeps from under the hem, glowing brighter and prompting you to reach down and zip him up entirely to hide the light.

_Sans, you idiot! Stop being so weird and get over it, all you did was touch my damn hand!_  You think, gritting your teeth with frustration as you keep him coated up despite a few wriggles to get your hand from pressing so hard into his face through the soft hood. So much for keeping up that intimidating aura of his... 

"...What do you mean? Why hasn't anybody told me this? How am I supposed to overlook things if nobody is telling me anything! I'll be there in an hour or something. Don't lose any of the records, you hear me? If someone's interfering with our business, I need every last shred of evidence so the high witch can properly protect us. We can consult with the higher power when I get there."

Sans wrestles the hood and your hand off of his face to give you a look of confusion, clearly not understanding the last part of Libby's words on the phone. 

You shake your head at him for the time being, to which he just sighs softly and moves to unzip his jacket again. Instead of letting him, you grab his hoodie and pull it over his head again- this time out of irritation due to him fussing around so much. He gets the hoodie out of his face and narrows his eye lights on you, reaching over and yanking on some of your hair lightly in retaliation. Thankful he didn't decide to yank on _Flowey_ (that would be _so_ bad...!), but still aggravated by this response nonetheless, you turn and stick both fingers right inside his eye sockets like nobody's business, your version of telling him who's the real boss here.

Sans jerks violently and grabs your wrist with more forcefulness than you'd expect him to apply, pulling your fingers out of his personal space with a look of abject horror. Once he has a hold of himself though, he makes a face and reaches over- to attempt sticking both _his_ fucking fingers up your nose! 

Horrified at the thought of his fingers up your nostrils- and now totally getting how he must have felt with your fingers in his eye sockets- you grab his hand and wriggle back your torso from him as he tries to one-up you. He's a lot stronger than you are for being just a pile of bones, and as your torso arches backwards from his nearing hand, you lift a leg and press it into the side of his pelvis to get some space. Sans grabs your ankle as a result and yanks it off, pulling you back towards him and startling a noise of objection out of you just when he finally hooks his fingers in your nostrlis and-

The sound of a phone dropping makes both you and Sans freeze up.

_Shit!_  You think, snapping your head back to look at the face now looking at you from the other end of the bed, eyes wide with disbelief and blonde hair half resting on the ground as she gapes at you and Sans. All at once, you realize there is absolutely no way to explain anything that would make sense, especially not without giving away the fact that outsiders know she's a witch- and based on that call- she knows _more_ witches.

So you blurt out the only thing you're sure will help you in this situation. 

_"GASTER!"_  You bark, shifting to crawl out from under the bed and grabbing Sans wrist as you move your head so his fingers are no longer in your nose.

Libby, as expected of your gamble, makes a strange face of unnatural discomfort and retreats from looking under the bed to stand and grab at her head with a blank look of bewilderment, allowing you to drag Sans out from under. You swing the obviously confused skeleton ahead so that he can race over to the front door and open it up.

"Gaster, Gaster!" You shout for extra measure as you run after Sans, the two of you hastily exiting the house and slamming the door shut. You take his wrist and pull him to the side of the house, where the two of you can have a bit of a breather before taking to the streets and finding your way to Asgore's by foot. Your heart is slamming against your ribs loudly, and likewise, Sans' magic is loudly thrumming beside you- a suspected equivalent of a racing heart after being so close to being caught by Libby. You deeply hope is that Libby either forgets seeing you altogether, or that she recalls so little that she rakes it up to just being a hallucination by her grieving mind.

You momentarily wonder whether it would be bad if she remembers seeing Sans, before reminding yourself he'd likely be safe considering she's totally infatuated with him. 

At the memory of the love hex she'd failed to put on Sans, you turn your head to curiously look at the skeleton beside you who exhales heavily, reaching up to rub the back of his skull free of the small sweat drops that have accumulated. All you can really think on the topic is...

What kind of good _shit_ is Libby smoking to find _Sans the Skeleton_ attractive? Fart jokes? Puns? Annoyingly childish behavior? What in the holy hell is so attractive about _that-?!_

"Wh... What was that you were yelling just now...? 'Gaster'? What's a 'gaster'?" Sans asks, attracting your immediate attention when you realize your guess from earlier with Papyrus is on-spot. You _knew_ it couldn't just be only _one_ of the skeleton brothers that would remember Gaster's name! But... 

"Yeah, Gaster. When I say it, people save for Papyrus tend to, uh, sort of glitch out and forget a few things- like whatever is happening during the time they hear it or even just _read_ it. I figured it would do us good as a last resort getaway. I guess I was right when I told Paps you might remember hearing it too, but other than that, we still don't know why saying that name would make someone glitch out like they do."

Sans appears confused, but shakes his head and straightens up, fixing his jacket dutifully.

"You still got your diary then?" Sans inquires, making you reach into your usefully baggy skirt pocket and then pause when something awfully suspicious enters your mind.

_...How does Sans know this is my_ diary? _I mean, it could be any book of the sorts, couldn't it? So then why is Sans specifically calling it MY diary?_  You wonder, halting a leer from forming on your face and proceeding to pull it out of your pocket.

"Yeah, I do... I sure hope they didn't read anything like the passage I made about..." You snap your fingers as if the thought has escaped you, looking up with a contemplating frown. "Oh, something about Lettuce...?"

"You mean Lucette... How do you forget the name of the lady who basically taught yo-?" Sans stops his words in their tracks, his entire visage contorting into a blank look before realization sets in and he drags his eye lights over to you in alarm- looking like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. As he stares at you for any sign of an attack, you turn to face him and put your hands on your hips. Almost immediately, his eye lights vanish and he turns a tinge of purple with obvious anxiety.

"...Is anything you want to tell me, _ **Sans the Skeleton?"**_ You demand carefully, voice leveled with no nonsense as Flowey does his best to smother the sputtering and giggles from atop your right ear.

"..." 

"..."

"...Y-you know, sweet tart, I was _really_ messed up with you before and I'm _very_ sorry-" 

"UGH!" You growl, throwing your hands up and turning to march past him towards the street, smoothing out your skirt and briskly walking to get some space from the skeleton who hurries to keep up with you at your heels. "What _else_ did you do? Spit in my food? lounge in my room while I was out? You are a _real_ piece of work, you know that?"

When you look back over your shoulder, you're surprised to see the honest look of shame draped over his features, visibly weighing heavy on the skeleton as he looks away from you. At the sight, you chew on your lip thoughtfully and look back ahead to keep walking.

_"We're both thinking it, right?"_

You resist the sudden urge to flinch, nearly forgetting Flowey's presence so close to your face due to how comfortable it is to have him wrapped around your hair like a headband. Both thinking... About the fact that he's probably not entirely at fault for his behavior in the past due to Libby's hexes?

_"I know I'm probably the last person that should be defending Smiley Trashbag, but come on... Your boyfriend looks pretty guilty, even though it's kind of funny. I think the diary reading was a result of one of those dumb hexes Malibu Barbie stuck on him."_

You slap a hand over your mouth hard enough that it hurts, only letting out half of a squeak of laughter at the terrible nickname Flowey has decided to place upon your adoptive sister. Knowing it was rather loud, you turn your head and find Sans giving you a curious look still laden with guilt. 

"Sorry, I have the hiccups," You say to cover for the noise you've made, pretending not to have heard the _prior_ comment Flowey had uttered regarding Sans as your...

You shiver a smidgen at the thought, but Sans is otherwise unaware of your musings, cocking his head slightly to the side and frowning in confusion.

"'Hiccups'? What's that?" The skeleton inquires with honest confusion, prompting you to ease up on your irritation with him and slow down so the two of you are walking side by side now. You flick Flowey's petals when you hear him start to quietly hum some cheesy romantic jazz music resulting in a tightening of his vines- not enough to hurt, but enough to irritate your scalp a bit.

Dumb ass flower...

"You don't know what hiccups are?" You blurt out, before he blinks his eye sockets at you and your mouth evidently pops open in understanding. "Oh... Right. I forgot. Everything goes right through you."

His eye sockets narrow on you, eye lights lighting up with mild amusement as you stare up at him. "Like a pair of fingers. In my eye sockets," he reminds you, getting you to wince with a guilty smile as you lock your hands behind you in embarrassment.

"Yeeeaah... Sorry about that. That wasn't nice of me, I got the message loud and clear after you, um..." You trail off, reaching back up to rub your nose thoughtfully when Sans starts laughing this easygoing laugh- one that rumbles in his rib cage and... Spine-neck-throat? What do you even call it?

"Yeah. Exactly. Sorry for picking your nose, sweet tart."

You slap a hand over your face with a groan of exasperation that half borders a laugh, right before turning to Sans and slapping his arm in disbelief and speeding up your walk to hide the smile that threatens to take over your face. "Do you _have_ to say it like that? My god!"

"What can I say? **Snot** like it's a lie."

"Sans, stop."

"Stop what? I'm **picking** the best ones though. Don't be so **snort** with me, I'm honestly trying."

"Sans, I mean it, _s-stop."_

Sans holds his hands up, a lazy grin of pure satisfaction attached to his face. "Alright, alright, I'll stop with the nose puns... Gotta admit those were good ones though."

"Whatever you say, you weirdo," you respond, biting your lip to control your expression to one of ease and indifference. " _Any_ ways... Hiccuping is something the throat does in the human body. It makes a part of our body called the diaphram spasm and force us to sharply inhale- which then gets stopped by our vocal cords snapping shut. When it does that, it produces this sort of high pitched noise like the one I made before. I guess with you being a skeleton... You probably wouldn't have that."

Sans smiles a little wider. "Yeah. I _probably_ wouldn't, would I?" He snickers, making you roll your eyes and wave him off as a result.

_You're getting distracted again,_ you think to yourself, quickly shaking the good mood off to talk serious with Sans again. 

"By the way... I think I know why you were behaving with me _that_ way before," you state after a moment of quietly walking with Sans, who has shoved his hands in his pocket and is looking much more upbeat than he had before when you threw your salt at him for reading your diary. The second you mention this news though, his mood becomes more tame and he turns to place both eye lights on you.

"Really?" He asks, raising a brow bone with interest as you nod in response. "Okay. Lay it on me."

"Well... I can't really tell you yet. No hard feelings, but if you knew, I'm not sure how you'd take it. We're getting along right now... But we're not friends. I don't know you enough. I don't know how much of your behavior before was Sans and how much of it _wasn't._ So I'm just taking precautions before shit hits the fan or something," you state carefully, watching Sans nod out of the corner of your eye in understanding.

"Mm... So based on what you just said, I can deduce that you suspect it was an outside force making me behave that way based on your statement claiming that some of it _wasn't_ me- and that you're under the impression I will go on a murder spree to get rid of said outside force... And based on _that_ , I can guess this outside force is a _person_ , because you wouldn't have any qualms telling me if it were maybe some kind of natural effect made by nature," Sans easily connects the dots, turning his head to look at you in amusement when your eyes meet his to gawk at him. "I know I'm lazy and I joke around a lot, but I'm not as dense as I look, sweet tart."

_Stop calling me that,_  you think, twisting your gaping features into a pursed lipped leer of annoyance at him.

"Although... I'm not sure how you'd come to that conclusion though. How do you _know_ it was an outside force? I mean... I don't like it, but those feelings felt pretty real to me," Sans states, making you shrug and say nothing else. He chuckles a little. "...Not telling me anymore, eh? That's fine. I can wait."

_Somehow I doubt that. You're probably just going to take apart every word I say from this point on,_ you think with a twitch of a grimace at the corner of your lips. 

"I have enough evidence to prove it. I just need to talk with Asgore and Toriel to see if I'm on the right track," You respond, earning another slow nod from Sans as his eye lights flick over to you scrutinizingly

"You must be pretty sure if you're telling me this much already," Sans notes, obviously making an effort to keep you on the topic so you'll accidentally let up on some information.

Of course, you expected such a result. "No fishing, Sans."

He grins a bit wider, but then it turns into confusion... and finally settles into sudden realization. "Wait, wait, _Papyrus_ knows you're alive?! Not just Toriel and Asgore? He didn't say anything to me this morning...!" 

You resist the urge to grin at the look of disbelief on his face as you answer, "Yep. He knows. He walked in with Alan when I was talking with King Asgore and-" 

"He was with _Alan?!"_  Sans asks, visibly getting more excited and agitated as you speak, to the point that he stops walking at an intersection between houses and an elementary school that within school hours. As a result, you grab his wrist when his left eye flashes that golden-cyan hue... And nothing else happens. Sans lets out a hiss of a curse and his eye lights return to their usual white colors. "This non-magic thing is getting _really_ fucking old right now...!"

"Calm down! He's fine. He's not with him right now, and for the most part, Alan is going through some monster rehab and has quit the witch hunting gig," You say in hopes of sating Sans sudden rise in irritation.

You don't like seeing him like this- it's a reminder of how bad he was to you when you first met one another. Unfortunately, Sans doesn't see this, and turns to look at you with an incredulous expression. "Are you _defending_ him? He made you _jump off a cliff!"_ He reminds you, looking absolutely flabbergasted by your attempts to protect Alan.

You're immediately offended by this accusation, and you shoot him a sharp glare. "I'm not defending _anybody!_  I know what he did, you don't have to remind me! But holding it against him forever isn't going to change what happened! And for all purposes, Alan and Clayton are not dangerous to _monsters,_ just witches! Monsters can't be witches! Therefore, Alan has no reason to hurt your brother! Hell, Alan doesn't even have an execution points!"

Sans stares at you long and hard, taking you apart with his eye lights as you speak. Once you are done though, he decides to stick his foot further into his mouth when he says, "You know what it sounds like from where I'm standing? It sounds like you're still in _love_ with that son of a bitch."

Your mouth pops open, horrified that Sans would so _bluntly_ say it out loud in public- where _Alan_ could likely pop up at any moment (alright, maybe not _likely,_ but still) and hear it, furthering any ideas he already has about you on the subject. _"Excuse me?!_  I am NOT in love with Alan Barrett! I've _never_ been in love with him at all! Where in the fresh hell did you get _that_ assumption?!"

The skeleton scoffs in disbelief, throwing his hands out to gesture to you. "I don't know! Maybe from all the googly eyed drooling you'd been doing whenever he would so much as breathe in your direction!"

You make a sour face, crossing your arms as your cheeks turn bright red. "I wasn't _in love._ I had a stupid misguided crush on him, that's all. I'm over it! Like hell I'd like that idiot after what happened!"

"Oh! That's great news! Then you should have no issue with me going back to the college and beating the living crap out of-" Sans starts, striding on ahead until you catch his arm in yours and pull him to a stop. He looks incredibly impatient and when he turns that furious look of his your way, you flinch only slightly, unable to look away from the daunting white glow of his eye lights as you hesitate in your second attempt to calm him down.

This time, Sans notices the look on your face.

Like magic, Sans entire demeanor deflates and his shoulders fall slack. He lets out a sigh and unwinds, looking away to glare at at a tree on someones yard. Thankfully, Sans' eye lights lack most of the fire he'd had when first told of Alan and Papyrus being around one another. "Fine... You're right. Sorry for getting all worked up just now."

You relax when he does and relax your grip on his arm. "Yeah... It's partly my fault- I shouldn't have just dropped that on you out of nowhere. Things have happened and you're still in the process of getting caught up, so I don't blame you for getting scared like that. I mean, if it helps, I already slapped Alan and kicked him in the shin yesterday."

Sans lets out a small laugh, looking back at you with a soft smile. "Actually, yes, that does make me feel better now that you mention it. Just imagining you raging on him does tickle my **funny bone**."

Your eyes roll and you look away, ready to say something else- until someone's voice catches both of your attention.

"Ugh, gross! Why are you holding hands with a _monster?!_ What the hell is _wrong_ with you girl?!" The sound of a teenager or man catches both your attention, prompting you and Sans to turn to look up the street behind you along the rows of houses where some teenage boy is standing with his friends, holding a skateboard in one arm and making a face as his two friends do exaggerated zombie movements and start humping one of the planters on someone's yard through their laughter.

You and Sans fall silent at the display, mouths popping open in disbelief... Before looking down to find your arms still winded around his left one. You feel Sans flinch at the realization, but instead of letting go of him like you're sure the boys want you to, you turn him and start walking away with Sans' arm still in yours.

"Ignore them. They're still prepubescent..." You say, making Sans grin awkwardly before looking down at his arm in yours and looking away as a light shade of blue tints his cheekbones. "Stop blushing, I'm only holding your arm so they don't think I'm ashamed of standing next to a monster."

Sans is still bushing though, and not meeting your gaze, he asks, "So... You're _not_ ashamed of being labelled a monster lover then?"

You grin. "Nope," you answer without hesitation, popping the 'P' as you say it. "Not anymore. You can thank your brother for that."

Ignoring the hooting boys as they follow you from afar with their dumb ass comments of the like, Sans chuckles and finally brings his gaze up to look at you, cheeks still a smidgen blue. "He's a pretty cool guy, isn't he?"

"The coolest," You agree, pretending not to hear the teenagers and crossing another road to reach the city area as you reach in your pocket to look at your diary again and open it to see which entries have been ripped out. You can't possibly remember them all, but maybe if you look to see what you have, you can get an idea of what that man or Libby- _whoever_ has the pages- was looking for.

Most of the pages when you were younger are still there, and you cast Sans a dry look. "How much of it did you read?"

"Uh... Most of the beginning. Some of the middle entries... I skimmed a lot of it. I read most of the recent ones too," Sans states, looking immediately anxious once more. 

"Relax. What's done is done. Just making sure I have someone else to tell me if something is missing here... Most of the earlier entries are untouched, but some of the recent parts have been ripped out," you explain, stopping to read an entry from September 15th. You cringe slightly at your written abomination- calling Papyrus a "naive cinnamon roll", even though in reality he isn't... Calling Sans a "lazy ungrammatical loser of an overprotective brother"... Oh jeez.

Glancing back at the annoying teenagers as they make gorilla noises when you stop with Sans to let a car pass before crossing the next street, you find them now dry humping some trees, throwing indecent gestures and basically having a good time name-calling you and Sans for the most part. You may not have been as degrading or immature as them, but you sure were pretty hateful before Papyrus and Undyne snapped you out of that cycle of cynicism.

"Sorry for calling you and Papyrus names in my diary. I was pretty hateful in some of these entries... Just reading them is giving me a headache," you say, turning back to cross the street as Sans looks to you with a wry grin of amusement.

"Oh, that's okay. You made up for it right around..." Sans looks over the diary with a curious leer, before smirking slightly and pointing to a specific paragraph further down the page. "...Ah. Right here."

You give him a strange look but follow his finger... And go red with bugged out eyes when you read the first line quietly to yourself.

_ 'I was actually really happy when he started joking around with his puns over text. Ugh, I'd be lying if I didn't admit he was actually kind of- _

_**...smooth and charming.'**_

...

"What? I'm flattered you thought I was smooth and charming before I went crazy on you. I mean-"

"Sans, don't make it worse, please don't say anything else. Just message Papyrus we'll meet him at Asgore's in a bit, alright?" You cut him off before he can say anything else on the embarrassing confession he'd read from your diary, flipping the page to continue skimming entries for what may be missing.

"Alright then. Whatever you say," Sans responds, glancing back when he notices it's gotten silent again.

The silence extends for a good few minutes- a _good_ sort of silence between two people comfortable simply with one another's presence. It makes you pause reading when you reflect on your relationship with Sans, and how it's going so far since you told him of your situation. There's still a lot of friction- the bickering and calm that seems to pop up out of nowhere and then ease up is somewhat worrisome, but it's much different from how it was when he was harassing you in the beginning. Most of this friction is left over shame like with the diary reading, mere childish responses like what happened under your bed, or due to Sans' concern over both his brother _and_ (surprisingly) you. 

You smile a little, sniffing and enjoying the good mood. You like the idea of what friendship could bloom between you and Sans now that you're not holding yourself back with monster prejudice and now that Sans isn't being held back by witchcraft.

It could be the start of something good.

"Hey... Miss Human? I **scent**  Papyrus the message, but I don't think he got any of the nose puns I made. **Booger.** "

"...I've just immediately decided that I don't want to be your friend, and from this point on- _I don't know you._ Get away from me, Sans."

* * *

Liberty Sterling shakes her head one more time and then looks around the room in confusion before finding her smartphone on the floor, making her bend down to pick it up. The call already ended before she had dropped it, that much she's certain of... But what was she doing there again? 

Something... Under the bed?

Libby leans down a little more to peer under your old bed, and frowns when she finds it empty. She's not too sure what she was expecting to find, but stands up and sticks her phone in her purse from where she left it on your bed, tossing it aside on the night table and crawling over the comforter. At most, she should be able to nab maybe thirty minutes of sleep before she has to go and see what the problem is at the coven today.

Someone took their offerings. People with the skills to find anyone and break highly protective spells with little effort... People who  _know_ about witchcraft and how it works. Now, she's not sure who this could be- or if it's many people or just  _one_ person. All that matters is that she's  _not_ about to let anyone walk all over the coven that will eventually become her responsibility. 

_Bastards,_ Libby thinks to herself, before turning away to curl up after setting the alarm clock on your night table, pulling some of the blankets over herself. It still smells of you, but just barely... The smell of the body in her room is getting stronger though, and since it hadn't worked in amplifying her search spell, she's got a lot of cleaning to do.

...Cleaning that she'll do maybe tomorrow, as she closes her eyes and takes to a world where her worries no longer matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a few hours late, but HERE IT IS!! :D
> 
> On the other hand, we have new art from Metamaterialgirl!!! It's so FLUFFY and AMAZING!! TwT My soul is singing right now!! Flowey looks so cute in it too, it's giving me cavities!! My dentist is going to be in business for a long time!
> 
> [Long Day by Metamaterialgirl](https://www.deviantart.com/art/Long-day-712949649/)
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> Reset opened a [Patreon Account](https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponAReset/). Reset is terrified, but hungry.
> 
> Or there's still the option to [Buy Me a Cup of Joe](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5). l  
> [Born to Eat Meat Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)  
> [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)


	48. It Will Get Worse Before it Gets Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk contemplates their self-control and Undyne wakes up to an empty bed and the realization that Alphys and Druella might be missing! Meanwhile, Sans leads you through a trail towards Asgore's home, where you stop midway for a dip in a lake to clear a headache he's partly at fault for.

 Chapter 48: It Will Get Worse Before it Gets Better

 

Frisk taps their fingers in succession atop the arm rest of a loveseat in their bedroom, staring ahead at their less than interesting television set with a bland look on their usually upbeat disposition. Usually they're thinking of their next homework assignment- or a big project they need done for school. With Toriel around- who just so happens to be their teacher as well- getting these things done is always significantly easier.

But today, something else is on their mind. And it's nothing out of the ordinary for a kid Frisk's age whatsoever.

Namely- _Boredom._

A long time ago, in a time that didn't happen, Frisk would sit in this exact chair thinking the same thing. Maybe a few days after leaving Mt. Ebott, or if the monsters were lucky, a week or a month. Like an itch Frisk can't scratch, the urge to repeat the original routine again... And the risk to ruin everything yet again, if they so wish to. There's never any real consequence, save for _dying_ a lot and a plethora of guilt. 

Of course, ruining is not an option anymore. That's not fun.

The real fun is frolicking and meeting everyone all over again. Greeting them differently and seeing how they react- spending more time in certain areas and bonding with different monsters more than others to see the surface exit outcome. Frisk comes up with ideas before bed- endless ideas of "what if" or "how about". The downside? It's only fun for _Frisk._

Everyone else- or at least those that follow them up to the surface- don't remember a thing.

Sans has a few moments- but doesn't remember every single thing that has happened. There are times, in the past, where Frisk would mention something and it would fly completely over Sans' head.

And thus, that leaves them drumming their fingers on the arm rest yet again- restless and eager to have another do-over.

Something keeps stopping them though. It's always the same thing their consciousness battles with- no matter how good or bad it is on the surface... Even now, with things getting interesting following _your_ arrival on the scene- which Frisk could never have fathomed ever happening- their mind lingers on the last conversation they had with a small, yellow flower underground.

_"...Hi. Seems as if everyone is perfectly happy. Monsters have returned to the surface. Peace and prosperity will rule across the land... Frisk. Take a deep breath..."_

_"There's nothing left to worry about."_

_"... Well. There is one thing. One last threat. One being with the power to erase **everything**... Everything everyone's worked so hard for."_

_"... You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"_

_"That's right. I'm talking about **you,** Frisk."_

_" **You**  still have the power to reset everything. Toriel, Sans, Asgore, Alphys, Papyrus, Undyne... If you so choose... Everyone will be ripped from this timeline... And sent back before all of this ever happened. Nobody will remember anything, and you'll be able to do whatever you want."_

_"...That power. I know that power. That's the power you were fighting to stop, wasn't it? The power **I** tried to use..." _

Frisk frowns, glaring at the television set slightly. Remembering this conversation is uncomfortable. They wish they had never had that talk... And despite only having it once- at a time now nonexistent- it continues to whirl around in Frisk's mind.

_"Frisk... Please. Just let them go. Let yourself be happy. Live your life and experience new things."_

_"...But... If I can't change your mind. If you **do**  end up erasing everything... You have to erase my memories, too."_

_"...I'm sorry. You've probably heard this a hundred times already, haven't you...? ... Well, that's all. See you later..._

It's one of the furthest times everyone's ever been on the surface. 

Based on a few queries, it seems Sans is somewhat aware of the fact that it's one of the longest times spend above ground. It always baffles Frisk of how Sans seems to tend to just... _know_ things just by a feeling in his gut. Does he remember much? No. Lots of flashbacks, lots of dreams, but not enough to coherently string things along. The only time Sans ever got a gist of things was the time Frisk decided to...

Frisk cringes, stopping the drumming of their fingers to pull their legs up on the seat against their chest. They don't want to think about that right now. Moving on.

Either way, yes, it's the longest time monsters have spent living among the rest of human society. However, and it seems Sans is not aware of this, it's only _**one of**_ the longest times.

Everyone has reached this point two other times before. The real anomaly is that they just haven't ever met _you_ those times, despite everything. Who are you? And why is it that you are only present somehow in _this_ timeline? Is this some sort of one in a million chance? And if Frisk decides to erase this time line... Will you not come back? Will you not meet Papyrus again, unless fate decides to allow it?

...Frisk doesn't like new things. It's always interesting at the beginning in retrospect, seeing the new ladder to climb. The hard part is actually _climbing it._

Frisk has fought this urge to _"reset"_ many times. It's something that they can't help but think about every time they rest their head on a pillow at night. Even when they try not to think about it, it always worms into their head somehow.

It's the worst... And somehow, also intriguing.

Regarding the fact that you have yet to tell Frisk about what exactly had  _happened_ for you to have quite literally come back from the dead- especially with the rest of the group having explicitly stated they _saw_ you die? Despite the knowledge that feeling this way is rather childish, it really grinds Frisk's gears that you haven't told them anything yet...

...And makes the idea of a reset just a _little_ more compelling to them than it had the day before.

* * *

When Undyne wakes up, she expects to do the usual morning routine. Destroy the abomination of an alarm clock by her bed and make note to purchase a new one, get Alphys rolled out of bed, and then whip up something to eat before heading out to class.

This morning is different though.

Undyne lifts her head from her pillow, blinking her single gold eye around at her window to the left, right before sighing and reaching an arm around to find Alphys and pull her closer.

...

There's no one there. And all of a sudden, things click into place for Undyne.

Where is Alphys and why is she having such a pleasant awakening today?

Undyne pushes up instantly from bed, turning her head to look at Alphys side of the bed where the bed appear mostly undisturbed save for a bit of rolling maybe on Undyne's part. The sheets are still tucked under the mattress on Alphys side... 

The red haired woman pushes her red hair aside and glances over at the night table on her own side, frowning when she sees her alarm clock completely intact. That means Alphys hadn't set it the night before... The thing would have been smashed if Undyne had continued sleeping through it.

Which begs the question...

_Where is Alphys?_

Undyne swings out of bed, wearing only a red tank top and black boy shorts as she begins to look around the house.

"Alph? Hey, babe! Where are you?" She calls out, opening the guest bedroom door and making a face when she sees nothing out of the ordinary. No Alphys, no nobody... Heck, even Greater Dog isn't around.

Next, Undyne check's the bathroom, living room, and kitchen, but becomes disgruntled when she finds neither hide or scale of her girlfriend.

_Ah, I know! Maybe she decided to stay at the lab tonight! She did that once, maybe she texted me last night after I went to bed!_

Undyne hurries back to her room and grabs her phone from where it sits beside her intact alarm clock, right before taking a moment to regard the clock. After a second, she slams a fist atop it as hard as possible, damn near turning it into a cracked pancake against her night table and letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Ah. Better," she mutters, checking her messages and smiling when she sees that she indeed has a message from her girlfriend.

**"Sorry, I'm gonna be at the lab for the night doing extra tests with Druella. She turned out to be one of the patients signing for the soul analysis test! I'll see you tomorrow morning, ok? ^w^"**

Undyne takes a moment while reading to run her tongue along her upper teeth thoughtfully. Ugh, did she forget to brush her teeth the night before again? She's been doing that lately ever since...

...

"Well! Mystery solved!" She says, grinning widely and making her way to the kitchen to start breakfast. It's after she debates with herself on ramen noodles or cooking that she eventually finds herself popping her ramen in the microwave and sees the time of day it is. She saw it three other times, the alarm clock, her phone, and even the living room analogue clock, but it isn't until she's about to set the microwave timer that she realizes it's already the middle of the day- around three PM to be exact. "Holy shit sticks, how the heck did I sleep in so late? Well, I guess there's no point going to school- class ended _long_ time ago..."

Undyne shrugs and proceeds to punch in the cook time, grabbing the remote for the television in the living room and flicking through the channels.

_"Last week, we covered one of the most prominent rallies for monster rights-"_

_"Governor Tom Redd-"_

_"-in, reports of a strange sinkhole North of Napa Valley, Calif-"_

_"-a handful of college students including their teacher confirming the previously missing and presumed dead, (Name) Sterling seen in class this morning. We're here now with a student from said class that called this story in- What can you tell us about the discovery, Miss...?"_

_"Julia Fremont! I sit in the back of the class and I saw the news a few days before when they were still looking for (Name)! I hadn't seen any updates on the thing, but when I saw her in class this morning, it was incredible! She looks so healthy and totally not at all like she's been missing for days, but I know her sister! I called her just an hour ago to ask if she knew her sister was around the school, and she totally cancelled the rest of her day just to ask me if I knew where she went! I told her she dragged one of our monster classmates out as soon as the bell rang and that they disappeared when I tried to run out after them... But from what I garnered of the conversation, Liberty thought she was_ totally _dead! I know she's not though! I even snapped a picture while in class! See? I guess the people that later reported seeing her jump off a cliff were mistaken! She wouldn't be in_ this _good of condition if it were true!"_

Undyne leans forward far enough for her ass to leave the couch seat, raising a brow in disbelief as her single gold eye narrows on the photo that appears on screen, showing you, (Name) Sterling, caught in a death stare competition with, of all people, Clayton Barrett. In the back of the photo, she can see Sans clutching his skull in panic, his left eye light having flashed momentarily into that creepy cyan-gold shade as he stares at you and Clayton. Beside him is a familiar monster face, Betsy Bunswick, from Sans' hometown of Snowdin.

But regardless- it's _you._

**_YOU._ **

Undyne growls in surprise when she loses her balance, half falling on top of the long coffee table in front of her and making the tall vase of roses on it wobble precariously until she quickly settles it in place with both hands. With a wide eye, she looks back up at the television screen at you again.

_She's alive. Since this morning, she's been walking around the school alive... And I've been sleeping in like a loaf of uncooked bread left out to mold. WHAT. THE. ACTUAL-_

Three PM. It's not morning anymore.

Undyne looks back down at her phone beside her stiffly, waking it up to see the message from Alphys still within reach.

**"I'll see you tomorrow morning, ok? ^w^"**  

It's not morning anymore. Why isn't Alphys already back? Is she maybe...?

The red haired fish monster looks back to the screen where the girl is still chatting the mic away, totally oblivious to the news woman attempting to cut in and get her to finally shut up so they can cut to the next story. 

_Is Alphys already with (Name)_ _maybe? Well if that were the case, why hasn't she called me with the good news then?_

_...Where is my girlfriend, DAMN IT?!_

Undyne picks up her phone and speed dials Sans immediately. He's with you, right? Then he might be able to answer a few things about Alphys. He was working with her yesterday at the lab- whether he left early or late, he should know _something_. And besides that, he's also with _you._ Undyne could use a few explanations on how the HELL you peeled yourself off of the boulder at the bottom of the cliff and are now walking around completely intact with not a _hair_ out of place!

_"Hey. Can't answer the phone right now. 's just... The answering button...! It's too far... For me to press...! ...See ya."_

**_BEEP!_ **

"UGH! You lazy stinkin' _bone fart!_ Of all the times you could let your damn phone die or turn it off!" Undyne shouts at the top of her lungs into the phone mic, slamming a fist on the table and making the vase wobble again momentarily before stopping it from falling again. "When I get my webbed hands on you, I'm gonna straight up _wring the marrow from_ **_every bone of your body...!_** " 

Undyne hangs up and tries Papyrus cell.

_"...Yes! It is I! The Great Papyrus! What is it that you might need and who is this I am speaking to, hmm?"_

"Paps! Did Sans say anything about Alphys last night when he came back home? Alphys hasn't come back home! She usually sets my alarm because it needs to be louder than normal to wake me up, but she didn't! I slept through the morning! I missed class! So cough up what you know, comrade!"

_"Nyeh? Well... He did mention something about not wanting to stay any later like Alphys since he needed his beauty sleep, that conniving lazy bones... And something about being excited to do extra research on Pink Human's soul since it's somehow rather unique in comparison to other humans' souls. Perhaps she's at the king's place with the Pink Human right now! You ought to call him and find out! I shall call Asgore's clone to inquire and get back to you!"_

"Thanks, Papyrus!" Undyne shouts, hanging up and then quickly speed dialing King Asgore, drumming her fingers along the coffee table she is still leaning over. 

_"...Y-yes, hello? This is King Asgore speaking,"_ A deep cordial voice answers.

"FLUFFYBUNS! Are Alphys and Druella there?" Undyne blurts out quickly, getting straight to the point with much impatience on her part.

_"Wha...? Undyne? No, they are not here. In fact, I was just about to call_ you _asking if Druella was with you and Alphys. She mentioned that she would be visiting Alphys' and Sans' lab as a patient, but didn't return the night before... I tried calling Sans just now, but he does not appear to be answering his cellular phone at the moment,"_ Asgore explains, making Undyne grit her teeth furiously and slap her palm against her face.

_Great. Just great. He must still be out frolicking with-_

Undyne peels her hand from her face. "Alright, I'm going to get some of the Canine Unit and start a search for the two. Besides that... Did you hear the news about (Name) by any chance?"

_"I didn't need to. She appeared on our doorstep the night before! Isn't that incredible? It turns out she has magic! A self-healing magic whenever she encapsulates herself in water! Everyone was surprised, Papyrus and that human boy with magic sure were when they happened upon us talking in the kitchen!"_ King Asgore says, making Undyne's eye twitch erratically as she processes this new information.

Everyone knows...? Papyrus? Asgore, Frisk, and Toriel? ... _SANS?!_

"WHAT?! WHY AM I THE LAST ONE TO KNOW THIS?!"Undyne shouts with obvious offense, slamming her fist again on the table and grabbing the vase before it falls off. "Why didn't anyone try to call me?!"

_"Undyne. She brought certain information that needed to be discussed immediately. We simply hadn't had the time at that moment. We tried to convince her to settle down, but she insisted she needed to speak to Sans and get his help on something very important."_ Undyne growls at this, gnawing at the edge of the vase in her arms furiously at the thought that you preferred  _Sans the Skeleton's_ help over _her_ help. What can that lazy sack of bones do that Undyne can't?! He moves at one inch an hour! Undyne is much more suitable to help if you need some extra muscle! " _Unfortunately, I cannot control her. She is an adult, and a headstrong one at that. When you find Alphys, please make sure to stop by so we can fill you in. We still have no clue how to properly handle things, but it's best you know these things so you do not accidentally do something rash."_

She grumbles unenthusiastically, scraping her teeth from the vase with a wrinkle of her face.

"Fine. If I find anything on Alphys or Dru, I'll give you a call. I'm going to stop by the lab now to see if they're still over there or something... If you hear from the 'salt queen', let her know I'm not talking to her _unless it's face-to-face!"_  Undyne huffs, gold eye veining slightly with mild rage.

_"'Salt Queen'_ _...? Undyne, are you perhaps speaking of (Na-)?"_ Asgore begins, until Undyne cuts him off to shout, "YEAH, I mean _(NAME) FRIGGIN' STERLING,_ that's right! That's what she gets for not coming to her _bestie_ FIRST!"

Undyne pulls back from the phone, and hangs up, only to realize she's covered in glass and scattered roses with trimmed thorns. While raging about you, she accidentally shattered the flower vase she was trying _not_ to break.

"ARGH! I don't have time for this!" She belts out, running back to her room to get ready for the afternoon. Objective one: Find Alphys. Objective two: Get (Name) to beg for Undyne's forgiveness and friendship back.

* * *

"...Ugh, my head hurts," you mutter softly to yourself, low enough that Sans can't hear you as you push past the twigs and reaching branches through the trail that leads up to Asgore's home. It runs parallel by two kilometers with the road used for cars, and is also much more scenic by the looks of things.

_"Wait, really? Maybe you need another dip in the water to heal_ that _too, eh?"_ Flowey whispers behind your ear quietly, prompting you to frown slightly. He's joking, but you know? That's probably _exactly_ what you need.

"Well... It worked the last time I had a super bad headache like this," you reply, biting your lip in thought.

"Hm? Didja say something?" Sans asks, turning around curiously to look at you. In your surprise, you flinch and laugh nervously, holding your hands up with an awkward smile.

"Oh! Yeah, but I'm just talking to myself! Ehehe... Sorry. That's weird. I'm just weird," you fumble, twiddling your thumbs together as Sans stares at you inquisitively with a less than convinced expression on his face. Damn... He's way sharper than you thought he could be.

You let out a sigh of resignation when his stare persists.

"Alright, alright. You can stop staring at me like that. I'm just starting to have a headache now. It's like one I had before the time you caught me sleepwalking with Alan. It got better after I jumped in the water and woke up though. It was like it hadn't even been there in the first place! So... I don't know. I'm just having a headache. I guess... I didn't even really have to explain all of that to you, did I? Jeez, what is wrong with me today...?"

You laugh nervously, watching Sans regard you quietly as you reach up and rub your forehead, which is coated in a thin layer of sweat now. You can feel your headache getting worse the more embarrassed and the more nervous you are.

"...There's a small lake along this road to Asgore's house. We can probably stop there and see if a dip in the water will help you out or something," Sans suggests much to your relief. Somehow, just hearing this news makes you feel just a bit better, and you smile as a result.

"Water sounds _really_ good right now," you respond, falling back into step with him and pushing a few more branches out of the way as you and Sans pass them.

_"Look at you... Getting all flustered while talking with your boyf-"_  Flowey starts to whisper teasingly, until you pretend to swat at a bug, making sure to slap your palm hard into the closed petals of the flower in your hair with a big smile. 

"Sheesh, these bugs sure are annoying," you state out loud daintily, hearing Flowey growl incoherent insults behind your ear while Sans continues to lead the way more or less oblivious to your attack on the sentient flower in your hair. 

Sans chuckles ahead, looking back at you with a lazy grin. "Perks of being a skeleton, bugs can't **bug** me. I ain't got any blood for them bloodsuckers to put a straw to," Sans says,  audibly clicking his phalanges as he wiggles them easily.

"You sure about that? How about roaches or ants? From what Papyrus has told me of the atrocious state of your bedroom, I'm sure you have _some_ of those two types..." you snort disbelievingly with amusement when Sans staggers in surprise at your words.

"What? My room isn't _that_ bad. It's a system that works for me," Sans claims, making you raise a brow of skepticism. 

"So trash tornadoes are part of the 'system' then?" You query, making air quotations. "I'm surprised the tornado you left in my room before managed to finally disappear out of existence, by the way. It was fun while it lasted- especially that time Undyne dropped a printer on it and nearly got her head removed in the process."

Sans stops and blushes when you nail him with a challenging look. "Yeah... Those things are a bit volatile, I guess. Good thing it's not there to torture you anymore...? I mean, it's not like you're living over there at the moment though. Even if it was still going, it would only serve as a problem for Libby."

You crack a smile at this, nodding in agreement. "I guess you're right..."

_That's right. He knew Libby as his friend too... Well, before he figured out she lied to him. I wonder if that love spell of hers ever actually worked on him...?_

"Say... Sans?" You speak up again before he can start leading the way again, making him turn his head to look at you.

"Sans." His response makes you face palm and twitch slightly, despite the smile that twitches at the corner of your lips. What a stupid joke... Yet you're smiling anyways? What's wrong with you? Go get a better sense of humor, (Name)!

"Shut up. I wanted to ask you something serious," you try again, this time getting his full attention when he turns his entire body and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Okay... Well, during the time you were with Libby, did you ever feel... Um, _weird_ about her?"

Sans brow bones draw together slightly. "...What? Define _'weird'_."

You grasp at straws, headache becoming more annoying as you try to word your query in the least most awkward way possible. "Did you ever feel like you wanted to get close to her maybe?"

"...Like as friends? At first, yeah. Then I got sucked into the borderline obsessive urge to ruin your life-" Sans starts, until you shake your head and cut him off.

"No, nonono. Not as friends. I mean _more_ than friends. Did you ever have _feelings_ that didn't feel like they belonged?" You press, watching as Sans eye sockets soon go wide with horror and obvious disgust. You wince a bit at this expression of his. "Is that a 'no' then?"

_" **Hell** no. _ I know she had a thing for me, but I've _never_ reciprocated anything like that. I meant what I said before- I'm not attracted to humans at all," Sans states clearly, making you immediately zero in on his words and sigh with both relief and disappointment at the slight discriminatory way he states it.

"Right..." You answer distantly, pushing a lock of hair behind your ear and passing by Sans as he watches you with his ever so sharp eye lights. "I forgot that. We're just too fleshy for someone like you, aren't we?"

Your final mutters catch Sans' attention. "Wait, wait, what's that for?" He asks, frowning at you when you stop to look back at him where he stands with a hand up in a half shrug.

"What?" You respond, confusion etched across your features when he pulls his other hand out of his pocket to gesture to his own face with a dry look of displeasure.

"That tone you just used. Am I not allowed to have a preference or something?" He asks, watching as you jump in surprise at the way he calls you out on your behavior. Thankfully, he's not raising his voice and you're way too tired to lash out with your usual temper.

"No! W-wait, I mean- _Yes,_ of course that's fine! Everyone has a preference! It's just... You said that as if we're _all_ bad... Isn't that kind of racist? ... _Specieist?_ Ugh, I don't know- discriminatory?" You say, prompting Sans to leer and purse his mouth ridges together. 

"Well, since you're such a fair snowflake, what about you? Would you smooch a monster? And not even a monster like maybe Papyrus or Burgerpants. I'm talking of maybe a slime monster or a fire elemental. Something that doesn't have the same solid consistency like you. Would you do it?" Sans presses, waiting for your answer as you stare him down with a leer.

Why did you _know_ he would try to twist things around on you? Obviously you're no angel, you know it's only a recent development that you've completely abandoned your bigotry on monsters, but to be fair, it wasn't truly even there in the first place. It was _petty._ A scapegoat for your abysmal self-esteem on cooperating with others like society dictated you should.

"...Only if they bought me a drink first," you respond after a moment, turning away with a sassy flick of your hair to show your absolute annoyance with him. You're momentarily surprised to find yourself completely in agreement with what you were saying, despite only saying it to irritate Sans.

On the other end of the spectrum, Sans just rolls his eye lights at your back, following behind. He doesn't believe you. "I stand by my words. Why does it matter to you who I'm attracted to anyways?"

"It doesn't," you answer simply, fixing your skirt as you walk. "It was just that little part that bugged me a bit. I really don't care who you fancy in general."

"...Could have fooled me," Sans mutters under his breath, but you still hear him and whirl around to face him with a sharp look in your eyes. At this sudden about face, Sans flinches and stops dead in his tracks, waiting for what happens next with a guarded expression.

You stare him down for a second until you convince yourself that he's not worth worsening your headache, making you turn back around to continue on ahead. 

"He's _infuriating,"_ you comment really quietly under your breath to Flowey.

_"You know who else is? YOU. I think you're **perfect** for each other,"_ Flowey whispers back, much to your disgust and rising rage.

You're seconds away from hurling _both_ these boys into eternal damnation, fists so tight that your knuckles turn white and your nails leave crescent marks in your palms.

_"Chill out. Sooner than later, the two of you will work it out like you've been doing since you two started this little 'frenemyship'. Just focus on where you're going so you don't trip or anything."_

You make a face at Flowey's suggestion, but fall silent to walk it out anyways.

Eventually, you hear the sound of water and speed up your walk to hurry towards it.

"...(Name), aren't you going a bit fast?" Sans asks from somewhere behind you, making you grin slightly. Ha. He can just eat your dust.

"I hear water. I'll meet you over there if you can't keep up. I guess you should have brought _real_ shoes with you, shouldn't you have?" You state with a small laugh of amusement when you turn to see the absolutely dry look on his face. "What? I didn't _make_ you wear pink fuzzy slippers to school, did I? Honestly, you should always be ready to run if need be..."

Sans grunts, but follows you anyways, audibly annoyed by your statement. "I can keep up just fine, _thanks._ "

You break into a mild jog ahead of him, not looking back to see if he's actually keeping up like he said he would. Instead, your entire focus remains fixated on the water as it gets closer and closer, until you stop when you reach a few trees in your way, pushing the branches aside and passing them to see the lake Sans mentioned before. Just like the skeleton described it, it's small. Thankfully, it's large enough to jump in though, and you don't hesitate to run for the small planked dock set up for boats, racing straight down and jumping with a whoop of excitement-

That is, until you stop in mid air, halted by a glow of blue magic around your entire body as you are pulled back to the dock and set down on your ass ungracefully.

"You're gonna jump in fully dressed like that? What are you planning to wear when you get out?" Sans asks, making you look around and shrug.

"I dunno. What I'm already wearing? Water is nice. I've got no issues walking around in wet clothes. Besides, you're a guy. Whether you fancy humans or not, I'm not about to undress in front of you anytime soon," You say, shooting him a look to back down. To your pleasant surprise he does... And with a lazy grin, flicks his hand towards the water. When your body suddenly propels forward by his magic you let out a sudden laugh of delight, crashing into the absolutely wonderful cold water of the lake, grinning in the water and quickly swimming back up to the surface and pushing your hair back. "Oh my god! That was _awesome!"_

"Heh... Well, that's one way to react to that. I did that once to Undyne. She chewed my head out and stuffed me in a garbage dump afterwards though," Sans admits, prompting you to snicker in amusement as you crawl out of the water and onto the docks, wringing your hair out. Your skirt clings to your legs, revealing the shape of your figure until you tie it up at the end so it doesn't lift with the water when you get in again. Sans notices you prepare to jump into the lake again. "Want me to do it again?"

Your eyes practically sparkle with eagerness when you turn to look at Sans, not even needing to verbally answer for him to get the message and flick a hand again, sending you flying off the pier even further into the waters of the lake ahead with a wide grin of glee.

When you enter the water this time, your headache has completely vanished for the most part, and you feel a strange vibration around your left wrist where you have that humming fabric tied around you. Underwater, you stop swimming up to the surface to give your wrist a look of confusion, right until you feel the vibrations from the tips of your toes to the tips of your fingers.

...Feels comforting. As comforting as the cold water around you.

You smile and continue up to the surface, looking across the water to see Sans sitting at the pier, dipping his feet into the water and giving you a wave when he spots you. At this, you wave back, with your grin still in place.

"Ew. The two of you are going to make me sick. First you argue like crazy, then you act as if you're best friends or something. That's _literally_ like how a Asgore and Toriel act around each other, you know? Like a _married_ couple!" Flowey speaks up, now that you're far enough from Sans that he won't be able to hear you.

"Huh? What do you mean? _We_ argue and make up all the time! That doesn't mean we're anything like a married couple, does it?" You point out, hearing Flowey make grossed out noises of disgust behind your ear. "Yeah, I didn't think so..."

You swim around the lake for a while, drawing closer to the pier where Sans sits until something occurs to you.

"Wait a minute... How were you able to shoot me off the pier if you magic was sealed?" You suddenly ask, looking at Sans and watching as his eye lights flicker with the same realization. 

...

"Wow, I'm a blind idiot," Sans states suddenly out of nowhere, making you nod immediately and laugh when he gives you a look for doing so. Either way, he's smiling a little at your reaction, and stands up to dry his skeletal feet- which look like a curious mix between bone and the appearance of _actual_ human feet like the fleshy shape humans have. At this, you crawl onto the pier beside him, wringing yourself out as Sans slips his feet back into his slippers. As soon as you're ready to leave, you realize you're still wet from head to toe and stop from reaching for Sans.

"Um... But I'm all-" You start.

"I didn't care that time you and Alan jumped in the ocean, and I hardly care now. Hang tight," Sans waves you off, wrapping his arms around you and prompting you to do the same despite the dripping wet state of your clothes and hair. "Let's go get you to Asgore and Toriel so I can get the answers I want..."

You nod, but before the two of you can leave, you step back from Sans' hold and flick your eyes around in confusion, frowning slightly. You dip a foot into the water momentarily in thought, and relax right until you pull your foot back out.

"...? Is something wrong?" Sans asks you, watching as you give him a smile and walk back over to him to get in position with your arms around him.

"No. I'm okay. Just checking something," you lie. Sans, none the wiser, does not notice your lie this time, and proceeds to blink the two of you out of there and back to Asgore's abode.

...What's wrong is that your headache doesn't seem to go away unless you are in the water. And somehow, that thought scares you because you have a feeling it will probably get worse before it gets better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehe... Soooo... I'm totally late with this update... But that's 'cause I decided to rewrite a couple of things. Totally my fault. Buuuut here it is!! ;D Hope you like it!
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> Reset opened a [Patreon Account](https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponAReset/). Reset is still very much terrified, but still hungry.
> 
> Or there's still the option to [Buy Me a Cup of Joe](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5) :3
> 
>  
> 
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)  
> [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)  
> [Long Day by Metamaterialgirl](https://www.deviantart.com/art/Long-day-712949649/)


	49. Cut Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne makes it to Alphys Lab with sheer determination to find Alphys! And midst Asgore getting Sans caught up with everything, you decide to try and talk things out with one very upset Frisk Dreemurr.

 Chapter 49: Cut Off

 

"Hey, lady! Where's Alphys office?! Is she here right now?!" Undyne asks the second she enters her girlfriend's work building, half startling a woman at the front desk that deals with guests.

"O-oh! Alphys? I don't really-" The woman starts nervously, shaking her head as Undyne nears the front desk with an unintentional intimidating stride that means business. When she sees the glowing spear in the fish woman's right hand, she jumps out of her seat and grabs the phone from her desk abruptly. "W-wait, you shouldn't be coming in with something like that-! You're going to upset the staff and patients!"

"Oh yeah?! 'Cause _I'm_ pretty upset with the fact that my girlfriend hasn't come home yet even though she said she'd be back in the morning! Are you dinguses overworking her?! Better start talkin' or else people will be _more_ than just upset, ya hear doughnut head?!

The lady at the counter slaps a hand to the bun at the top of her head self-consciously with a squeak of disbelief, keeping her mouth shut only due to the fact that the scaly blue monster has a spear twice her size at hand.

The woman's hand soon reaches for the phone, stabbing in a three digit number and waiting a few seconds until she starts to speak.

"P-please send someone up to the seventh floor to see if Miss Alphys is still in her lab! Someone is here for her claiming that she didn't return home last night!" The woman barely manages to get out with only one stammer, only to gape when Undyne whirls around.

"That's fine! I'll go check myself!" Undyne barks, looking towards the stairwell at the end of the lobby. The woman at the counter nearly drops her phone with a shiver of horror.

"Wait! Y-you don't even know which room it is!" The lady tries to stop her, before Undyne's takes off in a run and sends a blast of air in the woman's direction. Papers fly around the stunned human, her "doughnut hair" beyond repair as she stares after Undyne's departing form. "She... Could have just used the elevator behind her..."

In the stairwell, Undyne easily jumps up the walls of the stairs back and forth in a zig-zag, boots stomping loudly along the walls hard enough to echo in the stairwell leading up maybe eleven floors the least.

By the time she reaches the seventh floor, she is already swinging open the door and entering the hall, which is surrounded by visibly startled staff workers with varying types of surprise scrawled across their faces, some which seem to have been expecting her arrival due to the call from the lady in the lobby.

"Which one is Alphys?" Undyne asks sharply, prompting all hands to fly up to a door where two staff members huddled together fiddling with a key in the key slot.

"She's not answering and the door's locked, so we're trying to open the door ourse-" One man starts, until Undyne strides past them and gives the door a dangerously powerful kick that opens up a conveniently splintered segment of the door exactly Undyne's height and width. "...Or we could do that. Not to worry, a replacement door will only cost us a lot of money."

The man is ignored as Undyne steps into the lab, only for her single gold eye to widen when she sees what's inside.

It's Alphys, face down on the keyboard of her lab computer.

"Alphys?!" Undyne barks, causing Alphys to suddenly bolt up in her seat, ramen residue stuck to the side of her face as she swings around wide eyed with an expression of bewilderment.

"Hnuuh...? U-Undyne? Where... Oh my lab. Wait- _what are you doing here?!_ " Alphys blurts out in surprise, standing up and making a bit of ramen fall from her face with her movements. As if suddenly feeling the tickle of the dangling noodles, she reaches up and swats it off with an expression of mild embarrassment, right before facing Undyne properly again.

"What am _I_ doing here?!" Undyne responds equally bewildered, right before grabbing the front of Alphys coat and pulling her close for a hug that makes Alphys gasp for air as she's embraced in her girlfriend's brawny bone-crushing hug. "You said you'd be back home this morning! I woke up _thirty minutes ago!_ No one set up my alarm this morning and you weren't there! I thought something happened to you!"

"O-of course not...! I'm sorry I fell asleep- _oof,_ you really hug hard..." Alphys mutters, before she is finally let go by her frantic girlfriend.

"So then... Druella is here, right?" Undyne inquires, standing up straight and looking around as Alphys and the other staff members share glances of confusion.

"Druella? She was here yesterday, but she left late last night. Why did you think she'd still be here?" Alphys inquires, raising a scaled brow ridge of curiosity. At her answer, Undyne turns to look at Alphys with mild discomfort.

"...Asgore asked if she was with us at home," Undyne explains after a moment of hesitation, watching as Alphys expression drops into a look of shock. "She didn't go back to Asgore's last night. I tried calling her and calling you on the way here, but neither of you were answering."

Alphys momentarily looks back at the other staff members, but it takes her a minute to finally say something.

"Carlos, please go call the security office downstairs for an inquiry about a talk black haired woman with a yellow and pink braid. I don't believe anything likely happened to her here, someone would have said something in that case... But it's probably best we check anyways," Alphys says, prompting the man that was trying to open her lab door before to nod and leave the room.

Undyne looks back at her girlfriend, letting out a short breath of relief. Sure, it's more than concerning that Druella is missing right now- that or she's just off the map doing her own things and forgot to let Asgore know- but it's good that Alphys isn't in any danger.

Undyne wouldn't know what to do with herself if something ever happened to Alphys.

Speaking of...

"...You didn't see her? At all? Weren't you supposed to be working front desk for the lobby the night before?" Alphys can be heard inquiring a staff member at a counter outside the personal lab rooms, a man who looks far more at ease than he ought to be for someone being drilled on the whereabouts of a missing person. He sets his bag down on the counter, fiddling with the name-tag over his left breast pocket absentmindedly- as if he isn't even listening to Alphys.

Undyne can feel irritation rising as she watches this guy blatantly ignoring her concerned girlfriend, until he finally turns around, running a hand through his pale brown hair and giving Alphys a sympathetic smile.

"I'm really sorry, Alphys, but I switched shifts with Rebecca last night after I called in sick. I can't tell you I saw her if I wasn't here, now can I?" The man says apologetically, resting a hand over Alphys' shoulder.

Alphys narrows her eyes suspiciously. "S-sick, huh? You... Get sick p-pretty often, don't you, David?" 

"What can I say? I have a weak immune system and I hate vitamins. Either way, you're wasting time asking me, so maybe it's best you drill Rebecca and her gal pal," the guy says with a bright smile, turning away to take his seat behind the counter.

As he turns, Undyne catches the full name he bears on his name tag.

David Northwood.

_Huh... Why is that last name so familiar...?_ Undyne momentarily wonders, until she shakes it off when she can come to no conclusion. Thinking about his name or who he is has nothing to do with finding out if Druella is okay or not.

"Alph," Undyne calls out before the yellow lizard monster can continue on her way to the stairwell to find this Rebecca worker. As she walks out of Alphys' office, her girlfriend stops and turns to face her.

"Y-yes, Undyne?" She inquires, looking far more lively and awake than she has the past few days. At the look of curiosity an innocence on her girlfriend's face, Undyne narrows her eyes with mild suspicion.

"Am I to assume you know about (Name) too then?" Undyne asks, only to blink in surprise when Alphys cocks her head to the side with a slight wince.

"Um... Wh-what about (Name)? Did... Did someone find her body...?" Alphys asks timidly, looking immediately uncomfortable at the thought and cringing into herself slightly. "Uh, if it's okay, c-could we maybe not talk about her anymore? I mean, I miss her and everything, but I don't think I have it in me to hear anything more about-"

"You don't know?!" Undyne jumps wide eyed with mild glee, before considering her girlfriend's feelings and concealing her obvious joy at not being the _very_ last to know. The fish woman clears her throat awkwardly, starting again- with more tact this time. "Ehrm, I mean... So Asgore didn't tell you yet?"

Alphys blinks in confusion and pulls her cellphone out of her pocket, giving the screen a thoughtful glance. "Oh... Oh my, I missed a lot of calls from the two of you. B-but besides that, what are you getting at?"

Once Alphys has her eyes on Undyne again, Undyne lets out a slight breath. Undyne's still mildly pissed at you for not telling her first, considering _she's_ supposed to be your bestie, but she'll deal with you later one way or another.

"I'm getting at the fact that (Name) decided to rise from the dead yesterday- and that she decided not to tell _either of us FIRST!"_ Undyne pauses to let out a guttural growl and yank out her phone to bear her teeth at the device. It's almost like she's trying to send her frustration to you through the phone. "SHE COULD HAVE CALLED! Instead she went to freaking _SANS_! And asked for _HIS_ HELP INSTEAD OF **_MINE!"_**

Had Alphys not heard the first part of her girlfriend's sentence, she'd have been astounded, and maybe a little intimidated, at the levels of seething rage emitting from her girlfriend.

But she did hear it.

And in that moment, it's all she can focus on, causing her legs to turn to jello and her eyes to start watering.

"...(Name)'s... (Name) is  _ali-?"_

* * *

The other times you've traveled with Sans like this, you've never experienced any problems. You've blinked, and you were in the right destination, not at all concerned by the feel of you belly dropping midst the almost indiscernible travel from point 'A' to point 'B'

And yet, as you find yourself in Asgore's home with Sans' arms still wrapped around you, your knees inexplicably buckle and your arms go weak. Due to the fact that Sans is so used to you keeping it together during his teleportation, he lets go of you before realizing you're falling turning away to find Asgore until he hears the sound of you landing hard on your knees. It's hard enough to send waves of pain up your legs and to your pelvis, but the real pain that gathers your entire focus is the one between your eyes at your forehead.

"Ugh...!" You groan, pressing your palms into your face in a useless attempt to quell the pain. So much for hiding your headache from Sans... Did the jump irritate your headache even more? It's somewhat jarring, yes, but it's never affected you like this before. At this rate, you're going to have to strap a fishbowl of water around your head with duct tape!

"(Name)? What is it?" Sans asks, immediately kneeling at your side as you wait for the sharp pain at your head to subside. You can feel the pain diminishing gradually, until you have the confidence to remove your hands from your face. "Are you alright? Jeez, I didn't... I thought you said you were fine back at the lake!"

"I was! ...Ish?" You say uncertainly, before finding yourself nailed with a look from Sans. As a result, you concede with your worries. "My headache came back when I got out of the water, but it wasn't as bad as it was before, so I thought it would be okay. I didn't think it would do _that_ after teleporting with you though."

Sans relaxes a bit and then takes your hands, helping you on your feet now that your headache is a dull absentminded ache easily dismissed for the time being. 

"I don't think it'll get as bad unless I teleport with you again, so I don't think we need to worry about it for now..." You say as Sans releases your hands quickly to redirect his attention around the house. 

"...? Ah! There you are, (Name)! ...Er, you look like you could use with some drying, you're soaked head to toe. Oh, and you brought Sans too! Did you manage to retrieve that important item of yours from your home?" Asgore asks as he comes down the stairs, Frisk right beside him.

"No we couldn't..." You start, until you notice Frisk turn around to run back upstairs, causing you to wince slightly. Oh boy, you didn't realize they were _that_ peeved with you. "...We couldn't get it. It wasn't there anymore."

Asgore lets out a sigh and walks the rest of the way to you and Sans, casting the stairs another look as he does. 

"I can talk to Sans and let him know what's going on right now. Do you think you could talk to Frisk in the meantime? I believe they're upset over something, but they're not dropping any hints on why that may be..." Asgore explains, causing you to keep your expression from going dry. He _hasn't_ noticed? Jeez, clearly the kid's upset that no one is filling him in on all this mess, how has Asgore not realized this?! "They like you, (Name). I think you're the only one they'll listen to out of the three of us."

_The only one, huh? I'm pretty sure I'm the_ last _person they want me seeing,_ you think, hiding your true thoughts with a shrug of resignation. "Well, okay, I'll try... No promises I can do it since I'm not good with kids though."

"Thank you... You can find towels in the cabinet beside the bathroom door, by the way," Asgore explains, looking more or less unconcerned about the water you're getting all over the floor.

You walk past the two monsters and start climbing the stairs to the second story, already overthinking your apology like the lines to an oral presentation.

* * *

"So you know about how she came to my home first and met up with Papyrus and that young man Alan here, yes?" Asgore asks first, prompting Sans to nod across from him on the table, the two seated together face to face- one with a cup of tea and the other with a fresh glass bottle of premium ketchup.

"Yeah. (Name) mentioned something about knowing why I was being such a jerk to her when we met- and accidentally alluded that it might have been an outside source affecting me. She wouldn't tell me what source it was though, because she said she didn't know how I'd react to it," Sans explains before taking a drink from his ketchup bottle. "So... On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, how bad is it?"

"Ten." Asgore doesn't even hesitate with his answer, causing Sans to nod thoughtfully and take another swig of his ketchup to prepare himself. "I must ask that you not do anything in regards to what I'm about to tell you, even after we finish talking. Can you promise me you won't do anything rash?"

Sans narrows his eye lights, taking another drink. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't to consider whether it would be better to just find out himself so he doesn't have to make _another_ promise to someone. Eventually, however, he concedes and puts his empty bottle of ketchup down on the table with a sense of finality. He _really_ hates promises.

"Alright, fluffybuns. I promise I won't do anything to whoever did _whatever_ they did," Sans agrees, grinning to dispel his immediate discomfort. Now he'll have his answers on whoever you're trying to protect... Sure, he won't be able to do anything to get back at this individual, but at least he'll get a gist on _why_ they would manipulate his behavior like that."

"Alright, first of all-" Asgore pauses to lean over to the seat next to him and pull it out, surprising Sans when he sits back up with a thick leather bound book and drops it loudly on the table with a clap. Sans jumps in surprise at the sound and leans over the table to give it a frown of confusion. "-This is the main item to have caused you your problems in the beginning."

Sans brow bones knit together even tighter, eventually making him look up at Asgore to see if the boss monster is joking around or not. "...(Name) didn't want me attacking a _book?_ Or is there more to it?"

Asgore nods and then gestures to the book again. "This is a book for _witches._ To do _witchcraft._ It's what Young Barrett and his cousin attempted killing (Name) for."

Sans leans back from the book abruptly, as if it will grow an arm and attack him.

"This belonged to (Name)'s sister, Liberty Sterling, and she used it not only to make you hostile towards (Name), but to keep (Name) herself in check as well," Asgore explains, hardly giving Sans a chance to do anything else than open his mouth before he is opening the book to show Sans a few pages. Presented to Sans' eye lights are pages full of unique coin-thin stones, many glowing and quite a few that have visibly dulled out for some reason or another.

"What _are_ those...? And why are there... Is that _my_ name?" Sans asks, before looking at the top of the page and making another face when he is met with a type of script he can't read. "The hell?"

"Yes, that is indeed your name. This stone's effects were to make you friendlier towards (Name)'s sister." Asgore flips through and reaches another dog eared page, pointing to another stone that is dulled out. "This stone was to make you dislike (Name), which is why her name is under yours as well."

Before Asgore can flip to another page, Sans holds up a hand, eye lights completely vanished. "I get the picture-"

"Actually, I think you should see one more at least. This one is very concerning, and Alan stated that it would be best if you knew about it."

Sans narrows his eyes at the mention of Alan, but doesn't say anything else to tries to stop Asgore when he turns another few pages, reaching one mostly empty page save for a dull stone with Sans' name under it smack in the middle of the page. As soon as Sans spots the hearts and stars all around the edges of the pages, his nonexistent stomach churns violently. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

Asgore winces sympathetically.

"...It's a hex to make you fall in love with (Name)'s sister."

Sans stares at the strange writing between all the hearts and stars, right before putting his elbows on the table and resting his skull in his hands. His eye lights don't drift away from the stone in the middle of the book though, and despite his urging to get himself to look away, he can't. The longer he sees it, the angrier he becomes. He disliked the fact that she lied to him, over something very serious, but this is an _entirely_ different level of fucking things up. Sans is _seething._

And with the promise he made to Asgore, he can't do squat-diddly- _shit_ to that bitch.

_This is why she asked me if I felt any uncanny feelings towards Libby. This is who she was protecting. She's protecting this bitch after everything she's done to the both of us,_ Sans thinks to himself, only growing angrier the longer he stares at the book.

_"Sans."_ Asgore's tone of warning snaps Sans only slightly out of his growing fury, making him flick his eye lights up to the monster king. Not even looking away from the book can quell his anger at this point, and it seems that Asgore has noticed this as well. One glance towards the silver and black microwave on a counter behind Asgore reveals Sans' reflection just barely- but it's sleek enough to allow the gold and cyan hues of his left eye light to bounce between colors wildly. Sans is on the verge of snapping, and there's nothing he can do because he _made a promise._

But Sans really _wants_ to do something.

_There are more stones in this fucking book after all, aren't there?_

Sans stands up, making his chair screech as something snaps into existence above him, startling King Asgore into lighting his hands aflame. It's a large and formidable floating skeletal skull of some sort- a kind he doesn't recognize. What sort of magic is this? Asgore never realized Sans could use magic on a level such as this, it looks far more advanced for a monster with only 1 HP.

"Calm down, Sans...! You gave me your word you wouldn't do anything rash!" Asgore tries to reason with Sans, only to hear a second popping sound behind him. Swinging around, he finds himself face to face with another skeletal head, causing Asgore to mildly panic. At the sound of something loud breaking upstairs, Asgore looks up at the ceiling before focusing his attention back on Sans. whatever is going on upstairs isn't likely to be as serious as this... Fighting with Sans inside his house with Frisk upstairs is far more concerning. Asgore can't possibly risk fighting three different targets, you and Frisk could get hurt in the crossfire. He hardly wants to fight Sans at all to begin with! _"Sans!"_

"I said I wouldn't do anything to whoever did what they did. That's _Libby._ I never said I wouldn't do anything in general- and to be frank- _we don't need this book and we don't need to leave all these people stuck under her witchcraft,"_ Sans snaps, snapping his fingers so that the skeletal entity above him begins charging up a startling amount of magic.

"If you do that, she will know someone has her book! You'll anger the higher entity that Libby's coven works under and lead it right to- _SANS-!"_

_"FRISK, **NO!"**_  

Both Asgore's and Sans' expressions twist into surprise at the sound of your sudden loud shout from way upstairs, but it's too late. 

Sans has already swung his arm towards the book, causing his gasterblaster to promptly release it's magic charge.

It's while swinging his arm that Sans has one last illuminating thought he ought to have had the moment he heard you say it earlier. An odd similarity that is glaringly obvious. 

 

 

 

_..."Gaster" bl_ ą̴̡̨̳̦̼͎̗̬̘͉̱̟̺̳̮̟̜̩̱̼͉̲͂ș̸̡̛̙͓̱̭͈̙̹̓̽͒͌̆͋̉̆͒̓̍̑̇͒̽̈́̑̏̍͑͐͊̈͑̈́̕̕͜͜͝ţ̶͙̤̫̙͓̆e̸͉͍̳̰̥̝͉͕̫̘͇̣̪̖̳̰͕̪͉͌̔̏̉̓̃̊̔͂̂̐̈́́̈̇̌͊͗̔͂͑̚͘̕͜͝ͅr̶̡̨̧̼͙͉̻̞̰͓͍̜͓͉̻͖̦͂̓̊̃̄͒̒̅͜͠.̵̛̥͕̞̖̤̗̱͈̫̣͕̱͙̤̖̯̇̍̅͂́̏̇̾͊̎͊̇̒̑͛͋͒̔̅̋͊̚̚͘͝͝.̴̧̛̺͎̼͍̜̖̠͓̥͙̹̗̣͍̺͎̰͕̰̣̖̠̱͖̓͑͑͋̿̍̋̒̔͊͛̌̚̚͘͜͜͜͜͝ͅ.̶̡̢̻̽̈̽͊?̴̢̪̳͉̪̭̝̗̻̜̭͔̀ͅ

 

 

 

* * *

You've never been up on the second floor of Asgore's house, but it's rather large... Looks like it got expanded to fit Asgore's size and whatnot. Now you just need to find out which one is the room that Frisk stays in whenever he isn't spending the night at Toriel's ho-

"Not that one," You murmur to yourself at first glance towards the right side of the hall from the top of the stairs, where two large double doors lay with out of place oak doors and gold handles. It's a no-brainer that one is Asgore's, but did he seriously decide to just slap castle doors there for his bedroom? Looks... Sorta tacky. Then again, he does seem like the kind of guy that wouldn't know how to do home decor.

As you make your way down the left hall, you find a bathroom, and then two bedroom doors. After getting a towel from the cabinet Asgore told you about, you hurriedly attempt to dry yourself of the areas with the most collected water. When you finish drying and move to open the first bedroom door, you're greeted with yellow wallpaper, a bed with a few plushies, and a dresser half open with neatly folded clothes of varying dark shades of colors.

_Drella's room... I guess she was staying long enough for Asgore to let her decorate her room,_ your brain registers, making you pull the door closed and then move to the next door across from it. When you try the handle, it holds fast. Frisk locked it. This is going great already.

You give the door a gentle knock, half embarrassed about the idea that Sans and Asgore might hear your knocking from downstairs. Your cheeks burn, already knowing this will be a train wreck. You're not good with people, you've _never_ been good with people, and you're pretty sure Asgore doesn't realize this yet. Look at yourself, you're already outside their bedroom begging for Frisk to let you in and give you the time of their day to earn their forgiveness.

"...Frisk? Can I come in?" You dare speak up.

...

...No answer.

_This was a bad idea. Why did I let Asgore talk me into this? I don't understand children!_

Waiting a few more minutes in hopes that Frisk will change their mind, you eventually give up and slink towards the bathroom with a grimace, turning the sink on to it's lowest setting and splashing some fresh water over your face. It momentarily halts the headache you have that's beginning to grow again, but before you know it, it returns and you roll your eyes at your reflection irritably.

"You could always take the door down using me, you know?" Flowey quips from your hair, opening his flower and stretching out around your head now that he has a moment of privacy with you to. "I have no issues scaring that kid or anything..."

"We're _not_ doing that. I may not be good with kids or people in general, but I know breaking down doors isn't a way to establish trust in a relationship," you respond, giving Flowey frown of disagreement from the mirror.

"Sure sure, I guess we'll just do it your way then. Moping in the bathroom because you can't get the kid to even open the door. It really says something if they don't even want to look at your face, you know?" Flowey snarkily chuckles, prompting you to wrinkle your nose.

"I don't understand... I know they were annoyed, but not _this_  annoyed. I know I didn't tell them what was going on off the bad, but what was I supposed to do? Toriel and Asgore were both there- they'd _never_ let me talk about this kind of thing to a kid."

...

"On second thought... _Should_ I be telling a kid their age things like that?" You ask suddenly, looking up at Flowey's reflection with a look of hopeless anxiety. "I mean, I'm not giving them too much credit for understanding just because they're _Wonder Kid,_ ambassador of monsters, am I?"

Flowey, preening his petals with his leaf arms shrugs carelessly, modeling in front of the mirror to make sure he looks good. "Nah, giving them too much credit is hardly giving them  _enough_ credit in my opinion at least. Frisk knows a hell of a lot more about other things than you do, actually. They _did_ free monsters from the underground all the while avoiding death and befriending everyone trying to kill them. And I do mean _everyone_ tried to kill them. Toriel, Pa... Actually, Papyrus just wanted to capture them for Undyne, but what do you think Undyne wanted to do? Kill them. Alphys nearly killed them several times while trying to trick Frisk into earning her trust, and Asgore... He went _all out._ No surprise, but I tried to kill them too, you know? Anything you throw at them, they can handle it. Especially after living it a hundred times over with their special Save, Load, and Reset..."

"..."

"..."

"...What?" You ask, staring at the stock still expression that's stuck on you companion's face. "Save, Load, and Reset? You mean like... In a video game?"

Flowey turns to face you, garbling incoherently before he finally finding his voice. "Um, l-lets talk about that later, yeah? I'm not comfortable talking about it in the same house as Smiley Trashbag, I mean, you'll understand later when I tell you... Shit, I didn't mean for that to slip out yet, that's a really big talk that we shouldn't be dealing with until we've got a moment to ourselves-"

As you stare at the mirror, your mind drifts off to try and find a way to properly comprehend this new information. He mentioned something like this before underground- or actually, let it slip- but never explained anything more. It's been floating in the back of your mind, but now that a bit more of the puzzle has been connected for you...

Save, Load, and Reset... Timelines... Flowey having mentioned Frisk doing something to Toriel, despite the clear fact that she's perfectly fine.

You're starting to realize something really disturbing, something that couldn't possibly make sense. If it's true, that means a kid- a _child-_ has the single most greatest ability that quite practically makes them the closest thing this place has of an omnipotent being. Save, do a couple of things, mess up, Load back to the Save, Reset if you want to do it all over again a little differently.

_How many times has this reality already happened without you even realizing it?_

Fear and anxiety crawls up your spine. What could a kid, still at the age of learning morals and things between good and bad, do with a power like that? Is it magic? Is it witchcraft like Libby? Does anyone else know? 

"I-I-" You stutter quietly, throat suddenly dry. You don't dare raise your voice. You don't want Frisk to know you're in the bathroom with this new knowledge. What if they don't like you knowing? What if they- 

_If they did something to Toriel before... If they can do something to a monster, what does that mean for you- a human that can only heal themselves with water around?_ You think to yourself, glancing back at the bathtub with some mild relief. Your headache is getting worse with this new layer of stress you've coated yourself with.

"(Name), don't panic, it's not as bad as it seems-!" Flowey tries to calm you down with an uncharacteristically coaxing voice. Oh god, why isn't he being quieter?!

"Not as _bad as it seems?!_ Lower your voice, what if they hear you!" You snap quietly, heart pounding in your chest. "Are you the only one that knows that? Does Asgore and Toriel know?"

"...Just me. Occasionally Sans knows about it, but he doesn't know right now."

You gape at Flowey in horror. That doesn't sound promising AT ALL.

"My god, Flowey, are you playing a joke on me, or are you serious? That's- It sounds like a freaking _rewind_ power! We need to tell Asgore, if reading fiction of varying genres has taught me anything, it's that time travelling abilities are _always_ dangerous!"

"No, you can't! That means you would need someone to corroborate your story and that would be...!" Flowey winces, looking back at his own reflection in horror. "I-I don't think I'm ready for that just yet. No way."

"Flowey, this is serious!" You argue, brain coming up with only the most horrible possibilities- at least with it coming from a child. "With a snap of their fingers, Frisk  can change things for the better or the worse! How far can they possibly rewind?! They could-"

"Not that far!" Flowey cuts in, attempting to calm you down. "Just back to when they first fall down the mountain and meet me for the first time."

"They can rewind from now to _four months ago?"_ You ask in disbelief, only further frightened by this news.

"Damn it, woman, you need to calm down or you're going to burst a vess-ess _ess..."_ Flowey goes slack in the reflection of the mirror as you lean over the sink to breathe and splash more water over your face, only to realize he's staring at the bathroom doorway. Your stomach drops and you whirl around in time to see the door slamming shut on you, offering you only a glimpse of Frisk's absolutely panicked face when you make half a second of eye contact with them.

"Frisk!" You shout, running to the door and cursing as you wiggle the doorknob's temperamental lock and throw the door open in time to see their bedroom door slamming shut and clicking locked. "Oh my god, what are the chances of them rewinding right now?"

"Uh, well, it's not like anyone has ever figured it out, Frisk and I usually keep it to ourselves and everything- but whenever Sans figured it out, it's because Frisk killed everyone and-!" Flowey says a mile a minute, until you register his words.

"What?! _Killed_ everyone?!" You blurt out, well aware that Frisk can hear everything from the opposite side of their bedroom door. "Frisk! Open the door! We can talk about this, please!"

The sound of Sans and Asgore raising their voices from downstairs catches your attention momentarily, and you step back despite wondering what they could be fighting about in the back of your mind.

"Wait, are we breaking down the door?! I thought you said-!" Flowey starts in disbelief before you cut him off.

You throw your arm out anyways, and despite his words, Flowey obediently follows your movement flawlessly without hesitation, a thick bundle of vines swinging out violently against the door and spliintering the door horizontally into two halves from the middle. With your other arm, you fling out your arm and knock the bottom half out of the way, ducking under and finding Frisk looking up from the floor in panic as they raise their hand, which is sparking about with what looks to almost be red electricity. 

They bring it down to the ground, and you already get the gist of what this will possibly do when their hand makes contact with the carpet of their bedroom floor.

" _SANS-!"_

_"FRISK, **NO!"**_ You shout just after hearing Asgore's bellow from downstairs, charging yourself forward in a futile attempt to stop Frisk's hand.

Unfortunately for you, you only make it two steps into their bedroom before a blinding white light blinds you entirely, causing you to throw your arms over your face. You flinch back, but despite covering your face and closing your eyes, the light still persists, making itself known behind your eyelids. Your knees buckle again to a sharp headache and you crumple with your face against the floor until the pain and light stops.

To your relief, the light _does_ eventually stop. The pain of your forehead continues for a few moments longer, but when it finally dissipates once more, you bring yourself back on your heels and sit up- running a hand over your face and sighing in relief.

... _Nothing happened? I still remember... Everything. If Frisk re-winded, wouldn't I have forgotten everything that didn't happen? Maybe they did something else..._

It's quiet.

The first thing you do is reach up to check if Flowey is still in your hair, keeping your eyes shut fearfully as you gently explore your hair... And feel the sensation of a leaf brushing against your inquiring fingers. You let out a sigh of relief and open your eyes.

...

You're still in Frisk's room at Asgore's. Okay, that's another plus...

"...Where did Frisk go?" You ask hesitantly when you realize there's nobody in front of you anymore, speaking with a low voice so that no one else realizes Flowey is here. At first, you scan the room for any sign of Frisk, but while doing this, you glance out the nearest window and feeling your eyes widen in shock when you find the sky shaded a bright fresh blue right outside the glass paneling. "It's... But it was just the middle of the day! How is it morning again?"

Flowey stays silent, prompting you to frown and reach up again to make sure he's actually still there. Surprisingly, you pull him free of your locks relatively easy and raise a brow when he automatically loosens from your scalp and releases your hair from it's pony tail. Bringing him to your line of sight in your hands, he looks alive and well... But he's clearly shell shocked for one reason or another.

"Flowey?" You prompt for a response again, before he looks up at you as if you're some kind of miracle.

"It... It flubbed up," Flowey barely manages to murmur to you distantly, causing you to frown in confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean? Flubbed up...? Like it didn't work? But... I don't understand," you say, looking at your arm and sighing when you find the colorless humming fabric still tied around your wrist. A quick feel behind you and you feel your diary still in your skirt pocket, only furthering your confusion. "Nothing changed with us... But the day's started over? What-"

The feeling of something hard and sharp poking the back of your neck makes you freeze up like a statue, breath caught in your throat. Oh dear god, _now_ what is it?! As if you didn't have _enough_ things to worry about! What deity up there has it out for you?

"Identify yourself."

Your back relaxes at the familiar voice and you almost release a sigh- until the prodding reminds you of the situation.

**" _Now."_**

If things flubbed up, will they remember you?

...Or will Asgore kill you right here and right now for entering his house uninvited?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Linkses Below~:  
> Reset opened a [Patreon Account](https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponAReset/)!
> 
> Or there's still the option to [Buy Me a Cup of Joe](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5) :3
> 
>  
> 
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)  
> [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)  
> [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)  
> [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)  
> [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)  
> [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)  
> [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)  
> [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)  
> [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)  
> [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)  
> [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)  
> [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)  
> [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)  
> [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)


	50. Progress Lost...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore doesn't know who you are, so you go off in search of someone that could help you even though you're the only one with knowledge of the reset besides Frisk!
> 
> But what day is it? And who should you go to?

 Chapter 50: Progress Lost...?

  

Frisk slaps their arms over themselves protectively in their bed, expecting a brutal wake-up call in the form of a slap to the back of the head that greets them every time they make a reset. One of only many downsides and punishments they experience whenever they give in to the need to start everything over.

"...Frisk? Are you getting ready for school?" A familiar voice asks, opening the door with a gentle creak that soon makes Frisk remove their arms from their head and sit up to look at the doorway. Standing there by their bedroom entrance stands Toriel's impressive figure as tall and cuddly as ever, casting Frisk a kind smile when she sees their mildly stunned expression. "Still waking up, I see. When you're set, come to the kitchen for breakfast. We're leaving in an hour, okay?"

Still not quite absorbing the situation, Frisk only gapes at Toriel as they lower their arms, prompting the soft white monster to tilt her head to the side in curious concern.

"Frisk, is everything alright? Did you perhaps have a bad dream?" She inquires, half snapping Frisk out of their daze enough to muster a head shake of "no". At this answer, Toriel's smile returns, sweeter than ever. "Alright... Well, hurry downstairs when you're dressed, alright? Breakfast will be waiting for you."

Frisk nods and gives her a smile in return, jumping out of bed as Toriel leaves the room to give them some privacy to change out of their jammies. As they exchange their clothes, Frisk frowns to themselves and looks around their bedroom at Toriel's apartment. They're still on the surface... Frisk just got out of bed to get ready for school. 

...Was it all just a dream? Were you just a person Frisk dreamed up entirely? It was so vivid though...! It couldn't have been a dream. Yet... If that were the case, resetting would have sent them all the way back to when they still lived with their father. To the night their father left his girlfriend to watch Frisk- which led to Frisk being able to sneak out and climb Mt. Ebott in the first place.

_Well, regardless... I better start getting ready for school anyways. It must have just been a dream,_ Frisk convinces themself, turning towards their dresser to gather their clothing for the day. 

At least, on the bright side, that means there's no one that knows they have the ability to reset reality. The only real threat is Flowey knowing it, but he chose to live Underground away from everyone on his own volition. Even if he _did_ decide to come up to the surface, there's just no possible way he'd go blabbing about the resets to just anybody- let alone a an average college girl such as yourself... Granted, in their dream, you did come back from the dead, so maybe they made you up to have been a special person... Not that it matters much anymore. Which proves to drive the point that there's no possible way Flowey would be talking to any regular humans on the surface. Resets are a sensitive material, and although Frisk's never asked him, they have the idea that Flowey likely wouldn't want to share the whole "reset" thing with anyone else. He's always regarded it kind of like an inside secret between himself and Frisk.

Frisk pauses to find a good outfit- but freezes in surprise when they notice a specific shirt at the very top of the drawers.

Never mind the fact that it's their favorite shirt- the same striped sweat shirt they wore when they first entered the Underground... But Frisk very vividly recalls there being a hole at the front that Toriel hadn't yet gotten around to fixing after they came up to the surface. However... There's no sign of patching and no sign of a hole ever being there. This shirt shouldn't even have been in their drawers in the first place, considering the amount of thrashing it took Underground.

_...I'm overthinking everything,_ Frisk decides, turning away from their drawers with the shirt at hand and a pair of dark navy blue overalls to wear on top of it.

"Hurry up, Frisk, or breakfast will be cold by the time you come down!" Toriel calls from the kitchen.

Frisk hurriedly dresses before exiting their room with a grin. There's nothing to worry about right now. Just focus on going forward... And no longer going back.

* * *

 

"Um... I'm (Name)," you stammer, despite knowing full well that saying your name will not spark any signs of recognition in the monster behind you. Regardless, you desperately hope it will, which is why you decide to tell him anyways.

"...I can't say I am familiar with that name. Turn around," Asgore responds, his voice so firm and strict that you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Asgore is usually so friendly sounding and smooth with his words that hearing him talk in this tone, one of authority and regal power, makes the contents within your belly churn anxiously.

Flowey, still stunned and held in your palms, doesn't make any movement to hide. Considering the two of you are already caught, you sigh in resignation and turn around with the gold flower at hand, who turns his head to look at Asgore with that same dazed look of discomfort and disbelief. As soon as Asgore sees Flowey in your hands, he seems to realize something has unsettled the flower. You can already guess that Asgore is already making assumptions about Flowey being a monster. After all, you made the same assumptions when you met him too- he's _obviously_ not human.

"What have you done to that monster, human?" Asgore demands as soon as you're facing him, holding a three pointed trident fork at your chest threateningly. The sharp point of the weapon digs into your sternum lightly- not enough to cut, but enough to cause discomfort.

"Nothing," Flowey surprisingly answers before you can even think of a response, his vines crawling up your arm as his features shift into something akin to contemplation. "She's my friend."

For a second, you're stunned by the flower's vocal response to Asgore- his _father_. Flowey was originally so anxious and unprepared when it came to speaking to either Asgore or Toriel, let alone letting them even know he _existed_. He must be so thrown off kilter (not to say you aren't either, of course) that he's blatantly discarded his initial nerves and isn't attempting to hide himself anymore. You're not quite sure how you feel about this.

"...I see," Asgore answers, visibly lowering his trident but keeping it at his side in case things take a turn. It's obvious his guard is still up- you're a stranger to him now, after all.

What in the world did Frisk _do?_

"Do you know what month it is?" Flowey asks off the bat, not even sparing you another glance as he looks up at Asgore without a beat of hesitation of anxiety. You're almost stunned by this change in his behavior, but stay quiet since you're obviously not going to be trusted since... Well, you're visibly a _human_.

"What? ...It's September-" Asgore starts.

"Cool, great- **_Gaster,"_**  Flowey cuts him off abruptly after he is given his answer, unexpectedly throwing tendrils of vines past Asgore as the large monster's demeanor twitches momentarily. A gasp is caught in your throat as Flowey slingshots you into the hall with his tendrils, moving you along the hall towards the stairs without any sort of explanation to this sudden burst of escapism. 

"F-Flowey?!" You stammer, before closing your mouth when you spot the gold flower's expression. Whatever the case, it doesn't appear like Flowey is about to explain anything to you right now.

You pass by Druella's room for a sliver of a moment as Flowey swings you from Asgore's frozen form, eyes widening in surprise when you realize the room looks totally different from when you first looked in prior to whatever Frisk had done. The yellow wallpaper, plushies, and any recognizable item characterizing Druella's living space as her own is now gone- all exchanged with basic pattern linens and curtains that make the room appear to come straight out of a furniture catalog. 

Your breath catches as you're sharply swung down the stairs and straight out of the front door, which Flowey has opened with a vine in advance. As soon as the morning sun hits your back, your head begins to throbs with pain, making you press a hand against it. Things are getting dizzy with the way Flowey is swinging you around, dragging you into the forest and into the shade where your headache persists, but with less intensity. 

By the time he stops, you're completely exhausted. You didn't do any walking this time, but you're still forced to catch your breath once Flowey sets you down on your feet. In fact, you nearly buckle over from the jarring disconnect with your sense of balance, having to use a nearby tree for some support to help your suddenly poor stability. It feels hot- like you have motion sickness or something.

You hit your palm against your head two times, as if it will reset what you can only describe as a sensory overload.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Flowey asks, pulling the vines back into the earth and grabbing your wrists when you attempt to hit your head again. You're not hitting yourself _hard_ or anything, just enough to feel it.

"Too much," you manage to explain, shaking your head a little and cowering away from Flowey's vines. After a moment of quiet, your senses return back to normal and you let out a hefty sigh of relief. "...Alright, I'm okay. I'm fine..."

You look back towards Flowey, who wears a dubious frown and looks you up and down for any signs of distress. When he finds none, he shrugs and then uproots himself from the dirt in the Earth, quickly pulling your hair in a ponytail and weaving around the crown of your head comfortably. "Sorry for not warning you. I figured you'd be able to take it, but I guess I was wrong. My bad."

At his words, you make a face. "It wasn't you swinging me around that was making me sick. I didn't start feeling like that until the _sun_ hit me," you complain, nursing your wounded pride. You've been on plenty of roller coasters that were five times more intense that what Flowey just put you through, and the idea of the flower saying you have no guts is a little stingy.

_Shouldn't you be worrying about other things? Your pride should be the least of your worries,_  you think to yourself, shaking off your irritation in favor of looking around the woods. 

As far as you can see, the placement of the sun is pretty much the only thing you can see that's changed. The trees are all the same green as before, the layout is the same... It's the same woods that you and Sans were traversing through to get to Asgore's.

_Although..._

"Druella's room isn't the same it was before. It doesn't even look like she lives with Asgore at all... But he said she was living with him for a month or two prior to him meeting me," you brainstorm, touching your chin in thought. "If it's September, like he said... That would mean she should already be living with him. So why does her room look so Druella-less?"

"...Druella? Who the heck's that?" Flowey questions, making a face of obvious confusion at the name.

You hesitate, but finally bring yourself to start walking, putting one foot in front of the other and disregarding Flowey's query to think. A reset attempt that "flubbed up", as Flowey put it... How so? If he knew, Flowey would definitely have already told you, right? You're guess is that he knows something is wrong because he's still here with you and neither of you went back to the places you were at during this time. 

So Flowey says that Frisk _"flubbed up"_... Is what Frisk did considered magic though? Is Wonder Kid a mage like Alan and Clayton?

"Flowey... How on Earth did Frisk do that? Never mind for the moment that it didn't work correctly, but how the hell are they able to reverse time at all?" You inquire sharply, noticing the way the flower shrinks back in a chided manner at your tone.

"Uh, well, from what I know, it's because they have a high amount of Determination in them," Flowey explains, prompting you to bite your lip in thought as you push a large branch of leaves out of your way. He's not talking about a simple emotional drive. Undyne said "determination" is a physical trait that could be extracted from human souls. She said Alphys previously used determination to attempt to revive "fallen" monsters, but it went all wrong. 

"So... How do you know it's determination?" You ask, already dreading the answer since one: not many people know Flowey exists, and two: Flowey is in no way, shape or form, a scientist. 

"...Because before Frisk had the power to reset, it was _my_ power."

You nearly give yourself whiplash when you turn your head to look at him, but before you can start panicking and freaking out again, Flowey quickly continues with his explanation.

"Alphys used determination on one of the flowers where I-! I mean... Where _Asriel_ died. And somehow, _I_ ended up being the result of the test. When I woke up, I couldn't feel anything and I panicked. I went to my mom and dad, but... Neither of them could help me," Flowey explains, prompting you to raise an eyebrow when you note a faulty in his words. How could he have told Toriel and Asgore if they didn't even know that he...

...

He made a reset.

"...I didn't do it on purpose the first time," he says, looking ten times more tired than ever. "I didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself. Everything felt  _wrong_. I couldn't take it, (Name)... What else was I supposed to do? It's not like I wanted to, but living with this emptiness hurt. So I thought... Maybe it would be better... _Not_ to."

The pang of sympathy that hits you is enough to make you slightly stumble, but Flowey's vines pop from the ground to catch your hands before you can fall over. You mumble a thanks, but Flowey waves it off and continues.

"I changed my mind after I jumped and realized what I was doing. I guess... That's what made it happen. I hated living like this, but I was even more afraid of what would happen if I died without a soul," Flowey states, attempting to get a hold of his... _emotions_.

"...Well, do you feel anything now?" You pluck up the courage to ask, watching the flower stare blankly at the ground. After a moment, he frowns and turns his head to avoid your gaze. It's obvious that the two of you are thinking the exact same thing. If he doesn't _"feel"_ anything, how can this be hard for him to explain? How can he be guilty when you raise your voice? How can he feel anything like that?

"I don't know! I don't remember how it is to feel! Maybe I'm feeling things now, but _I don't know!"_ Flowey suddenly bursts out with frustration, turning to give you a scalding glare for bringing it up. You wince, leaning back a little when you feel the vines around your head grow small spines. They tighten, only slightly piercing your scalp. It isn't until you wince that Flowey suddenly reels back, vines loosening and thorns sinking away into his body. 

The two of you are dead silent. 

"...That's a lot of fire and irritation for being an emotionless flower wearing a cute facade," you dare to point out. Flowey, tight lipped and red with sheer embarrassment, rests above your head sheepishly, saying nothing else. At this, you designate the conversation as dead and start walking again. Whether he's actually starting to feel emotions again or not, the flower deserves a break for now. There's plenty of time to debate about this issue later- for now, you should probably try and find someone that knows you so you can figure out-

...

You stop dead in your tracks when you realize just how hard that's going to be. Why?

Because you don't _know anyone._

Well, you don't know anyone around _this time_ at least. Where you were before, you knew about a handful of different people- most of them being monsters. In September, you're severely lacking in social interactions, and limited to only a few repugnant choices.

See there's _Libby_... And then there's _Alan._

...And that's it. You don't know anybody else. Hell, even including dumb freckle face in the equation is a stretch. You'd shared enough notes and a few words every now and then through high school, but it never grew into anything solid until Papyrus showed up. 

"I'm a loner," you lament to yourself in horror.

"...Huh?" Flowey inquires in obvious confusion, though he doesn't move from atop your head.

"I don't know anyone in September! Just Libby!" You gasp, slapping your hands to your cheeks in horror. "I thought I could go with someone else to avoid her, but _no one knows me_ in September! I was a socially awkward college girl with no friends!"

There's a moment of silence, soon followed by Flowey snorting so loud that you almost thing he's choked on something. As it contorts to laughter, you frown and growl a little at him. Laughing is no help! You need a strategy!

"O-okay! Okay! You're right, it's not that funny... Well, it is, but let's face it. You're going to have to deal with that witchy friend of yours. She should be okay with you right now though, right? Just... Roll with the punches until we figure out how to get around to regaining the monster's trust and telling them about the witches," Flowey states, before patting you atop the head. "I pity you."

You groan, but proceed walking along the woods, swatting a branch out of the way as you pass it.

"I really wish Sans had stuck around like us... He'd be pretty freaking useful right now," you huff, before hearing Flowey cackle in a way that already has a scathing glare forming on your face. "Don't you dare make anymore boyfriend jokes about Sans and I, or I'll hurt you."

Thankfully, the golden flower keeps his trap shut for once.

...

"I'm not going to see Libby. We're gonna find Alan. I'd rather deal with him than Libby..." You eventually settle on, footsteps moving with revitalized determination.

* * *

  **(2 hours later)**

 

Sans fiddles with the strings of his jacket and eyes the clock of the microwave. To go or not to go... Alas, this is always the question he is left with when it comes to going out.

"SANS! I am now leaving for the tour around the educational human campus. Have you finally come to the realization that attending the campus tour is far more productive than becoming one with the couch? For goodness sake, you're going to leave a butt imprint and then we'll never be able to get you off of there!" Papyrus says with his usual boisterous tone of disapproval when he walks into the living room to find Sans in the same place he left him five hours before.

"...True, very true. You're so smart, bro," Sans says, glancing once more time at the clock of the microwave. 

"Of course I'm smart, I _am_ the Great Papyrus after all!" Papyrus huffs as if it were obvious.

Well... He doesn't have anything _better_ to do.

Sans lets out a dramatic sigh akin to one an old man might make, prompting Papyrus to roll his eye sockets and cross his arms with a sassy look on his face. The shorter skeleton proceeds to stretch his arms and legs, leaning over to reach for his toes and promptly standing back up to crack his back noisily until one of Papyrus's eye sockets begins to twitch erratically.

"N-Nyeh...!" He barely gets out, doing his utmost best to keep himself from screaming as his brother engages in only the most ill-mannered of bone cracking. How uncouth...! Just the sound of it is enough to make Papyrus _want_ his skull to shrivel into dust!

_"Ah..._  Okay, let's go, bro," Sans eventually states, marching straight past Papyrus's trembling form of barely contained rage with a shit eating grin of delight in his trademark fuzzy pink slippers.

Papyrus groans loudly, but follows Sans out, just about to slam the door behind himself before realizing what he's doing. Just before it hits the door frame, Papyrus mutters a sweet apology and pats the door, gently shutting it the rest of the way and giving it one last loving pet before he jogs over to his brother's side.

"Ah- _em!_ I'm glad you see it my way, Sans! Indeed, this will be an excellent introduction to the educational human campus for the both of us. Especially since we start classes soon!" Papyrus declares, most of his fire settling as they get in Papyrus expensive, flashy car and buckle themselves in. "I expect many great things to happen today, so I hope I can count on you to be on your utmost best behavior! We do not want to give the wrong first impression after all! Nyeh-heh-heh!"

Sans raises his brow bones at his brother, but resigns to just humming lazily in agreement as they pull out of their parking spot in the apartments and start heading out into the streets with Papyrus' usual rowdy driving.

"Great things, huh... Like what?" Sans asks, humoring his brother with a grin.

"Like my GRAND ENTRANCE, of course!" Papyrus says with invigorated excitement, slamming the pedal to the metal and screeching down the road until they reach their destination.

* * *

 

You grit your teeth and pull your skirt lower, making a hasty attempt to fix your hair in the mirror of one of the bathrooms on campus. Until entering to splash some water on your face, you hadn't quite realized how pathetic you looked till you took a peek at your reflection. Your clothes are in that state between dry and damp, no longer giving you the comfort of clinging water on your dehydrated body. As for your hair, it'd been sticking out in more places than one- bumpy beyond belief until you had Flowey let it down so you could comb it back with your fingers. With some help on his part, the two of you managed to get it in a nice high ponytail again, and now you were just smoothing out your clothing one last time.

"...Don't you think appearances should be the _least_ of your worries, your highness?" Flowey mocks you slightly, before tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear and quickly gathering it under the ponytail in his other vines.

"If I go out there and stroll around the campus looking like I just got away from a human trafficking drug cartel, people are going to notice. The only things the teachers and students are immune to are bad fashion, pajamas, and just-out-of-bed garb. Not... _This._ I wanna get to Alan without attracting any unwanted attention," you reply, nodding in acceptance at your satisfactory appearance and walking out of the bathroom to face the only world you know from top to bottom- Ebott Creek Community College.

Hopefully no one notices that you're utterly barefooted...

"Alright, if you say so. If you can, find us some food, I'm starving," Flowey says, settling comfortably just above your left ear and closing his petals up slightly to conceal his face.

You stop by the campus LED announcement board to find out the date, and as soon as you see it, your eyes widen in surprise. Of all days...

"Huh," you say, chewing on your tongue thoughtfully and frowning when you see the time flash before your eyes as well. "This is the day the monsters came in for their campus tour... Which means my morning class should be cancelled and Papyrus will be around. I meet him today."

Flowey opens a petal to peek at the announcement board and then side glances at you. "So you know where to go then?"

Instead of answering him, you jog to get to your CIS class a couple buildings away, bare feet hitting the ground quietly until you find the door with the pink paper on it, reading the exact message as before. You scan the names to see if you're late in catching Alan and-

"Oh. Excuse me, are you maybe looking for someone?" 

That cordial boyish voice, familiar and carefree, makes your heart jolt in surprise. You almost spin around and raise your hand to smack him, but stop yourself and remember- he doesn't know you're upset with him yet. He was nice to you at this point, so you have no excuse to start being hostile...

...Wait, what did he just say?

You turn your head. Lo and behold, behind you stands the freckle faced devil disguised as an angel you've been crushing on since college started, casting you a gentle smile that wavers when his soft brown eyes flick down to your bare feet. His face immediately twists with concern and he looks back up at your face, immediately sending your nerves in a flutter of anxiety. He's looking at you so _unguarded,_ how do you respond to that? After the cliff, he could barely make eye contact without wincing a little. Now it's back to before all that and...

The organ pumping blood throughout your body within your rib cage throbs wildly under his gaze, sending colors of red blossoming across your face as you try not to look away from him. No sense letting him know you're attracted to him _this_ time- if anything, you definitely don't want a repeat of the time before when Undyne basically announces it publicly to his face.

_Now's not the time to be thinking about that,_ you say to yourself quietly.

"Are you alright? What's your name?" Alan inquires, much to your confusion. What's your _name?_ What sort of question is that? He knows you! 

...Doesn't he? How could he not?

When the silence becomes almost unbearable in the time you're fumbling for a good answer to this conundrum without warning Alan of anything strange, Flowey lets out a noise of irritation and opens his petals to make his presence known. At the unexpected non-monster's appearance from what you know he assumed to be a simple hair accessory, Alan jumps a little and darts his wide brown eyes towards Flowey's face.

"She's mute. Ignore her, we're perfectly fine- let's get moving, missy," Flowey answers haughtily, using his vines to drag you out from in front of the classroom door and around an arch as you stare back at Alan's very confused form. Despite this, he shakes his head and then walks up to the door, grabbing a pen from his messenger bag and starts to scribble his name on the list. From where Flowey sets you, you can still see him, but force yourself to look away and regard your companion's annoyed face instead of ogling. The last thing you want is to give Flowey more ammo on these "boyfriend" jokes he loves so much, but besides that... What the actual hell?

"He has no idea who I am," you say with a hollow tone of disbelief, prompting Flowey to snort with amusement at the look on your face.

"Yeah, that's a bummer. Too bad your murder husband doesn't know you exist yet~" Flowey laughs, until you nail him with a serious glare. When he sees that you're not kidding, his laughter comes to a stop and he raises a brow ridge in confusion.

"That's not _right_ though. We've been around one another since middle school and he's known me for a long time at least from a distance. He knew me before on this day just by looking at the back of my head! Is this part of the flub-up Frisk did? Now no one knows me? If I go home right now to see Libby, will she not recognize me?!" You start to flip out, before Flowey slaps his vines on either side of your face to make you look at him. Your lips pucker awkwardly, but Flowey pays no mind to this.

"(Name). _Calm down._  Panicking isn't getting us anywhere useful. We'll figure this out, you just need to keep brainstorming. I know you were only saying it to make a point, but let's go see Malibu Barbie anyways and see if she recognizes you, yeah? It'll give us a better idea about what we're dealin' with," Flowey states, eventually making you nod as you struggle to relax your nerves. "You said you meet Papyrus here, right?"

"Yeah... Actually, I meet him by the library over there," you finally answer, glad you have something to answer and not another set of questions to boggle your mind as you walk out from the arch way and turn around the sharp bend of the building in search of the monster pack. You don't immediately see anyone, so you pause before convincing yourself to walk over to the stairs leading to the actual building entrance. There's a bench in front of the stairs that's not being used, so you plop down immediately and cross your ankles comfortably. "Last time, the only reason I met him was because everyone knew me as the person to get information about the school. The guy that was giving them the tour dumped his job on me and I ended up having to show the monsters around myself... But if no one knows me, then that guy is gonna go ahead and give the tour himself."

"Well shit... How do we get Papyrus to approach you then?" Flowey murmurs to himself, shifting around so you can see him. At this, you raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Aren't you worried about people seeing you?" You query in confusion, before the flower shrugs and starts primping up his gold petals.

"Nah. I think it's safe to assume that no one will know who _I_ am if they don't know who you are. I mean, we were together when the reset screwed up, so I would thing the same think happened in my case. Besides, I'm tired of closing my petals up like that- I'm gonna wrinkle up and turn into a tulip for having myself folded and bent that way for so long!" Flowey huffs, before a crowd starts to make their way over to the library from the corner of your eye. Your breath catches in your throat, and you try not to look too eager when you turn your head to see the monster crowd.

_There they are..._ You think, looking to find the tall one you were searching for standing in the back proudly and chattering quietly with someone beside him that's shorter. As soon as your eyes settle on him, you feel as if a ray of sunlight has hit you- sending waves of comfort throughout your body just at the sight of someone familiar that you like. You'd give anything to be able to run up to him and give him a hug... But doing that when he doesn't know you would stand out way too much. Honestly, you're almost certain that Papyrus himself would probably just take the hug without a blink of his eye sockets even if it's a stranger throwing their arms around him. However, you're bound to attract unwanted attention if he were to bluntly announce that he doesn't know you.

...The urge to run over and hug him is almost overwhelming, and your eyes follow him as discreetly as you can manage.

"Ha, I can't believe Sans is actually walking around doing something like this! I thought he'd be in a corner somewhere turning into a potato," Flowey snorts suddenly by your ear in a low voice, causing your eyes to widen slightly.

"What? _Sans?"_  You ask, immediately following Papyrus gaze down and feeling your body go tense as you suddenly find yourself making eye contact with the skeleton that _should not have been there._

_Oh my god,_ you think in disbelief, feeling your stomach sink down like an anvile when his eye lights shift from you to give Flowey a bold look of shock. Flowey curses under his breath, shrinking back a little. 

"Shit, shit, shit, I was wrong...! He recognizes me!" He hurriedly whispers by your ear, inducing a shiver out of you when you realize that Sans is  _definitely_ giving Flowey one of those murdery looks of his.

"How? I thought he was one of the people that didn't know you exist," you state, before Flowey answers quickly with, "I see what's going on now... This is a different timeline altogether, not just another version of _our_ timeline. That would explain why Sans knows me and why no one knows who you are. Which means... I think you're an _anomaly."_

You turn your head away from Sans' glare to give the flower a look of confusion. An anomaly...? "What do you mean by that?" You ask, dimly noting how Sans follows along with the other monsters into the library to continue the tour. At least you don't have to worry about him for now.

"...There are certain things that can happen in different timelines that may not happen in others. Some of them are uncommon, and some are very rare. I think your existence is one of those things, or else your freckled friend would have known who you were immediately. I think it's safe to assume that your witch friend won't know who you are if you walk up to her doorstep..." Flowey adds to your dismay, making you lean back and press a hand against your face.

"Okay... So now what?" You ask, taking a glance at the entrance to the library. "Does that mean there are two Floweys' running around here?"

"Probably, but I wouldn't worry about that. If there's two of me now in this timeline, the 'me' of this place is definitely still underground. You're the only reason I came up here, after all," Flowey states, before visibly registering his words and giving you a look that dares you to make fun of the sappy sounding comment he's just made. Instead of saying anything, you just smile at him a little and rub your forehead some more to fruitlessly relieve yourself of your headache. Of course, this doesn't work. "...On any other occasion, I'd probably be all for talking to Smiley Trash Bag and getting his help, but I think the Flowey in this timeline did something very naughty and I really don't want to be on the receiving end of his magic attacks. Been there, done that, bought the tee shirt."

You sigh, only mildly disappointed at the fact that Sans is likely not to be on your side now. After all that shit you two went through, he forgets you and you remember... So much for building up a friendship anew. Flowey gives you a look when you do so, and you raise an eyebrow in question. He noticed your disappointment?

"No, it's fine. I get that you're upset over this after finally getting all _smoochy-wootchie_ with him. I guess I'm just chopped liver over here, huh?" Flowey grunts moodily, crossing his leafy arms and turning his petals and face away when you open your mouth to say something. 

"I-I didn't mean it like _that!"_ You fumble, before sighing and shaking your head in frustration. "Look, let's just get out of here already before he decides to come out and dunk on yo-" 

"Did someone say _'dunk on'?"_

You let out a startled yelp and jump off the bench, swinging around and feeling your blood run cold when you see who's crouching down on the planter wall behind you and Flowey with a wide grin of amusement.

"Hey," Sans greets the two of you, a nonchalant wave sent your way that makes your heart hammer in you rib cage when you feel Flowey nervously wrap tighter around your head. Sans is talking to _you_ directly, but his eye lights are trained dangerously on Flowey in a clear warning. At least this answers one of your initial questions about Sans- how hostile by nature he is. He's intimidating, but at least he's not throwing any hostility your way for no reason. Instead, he's got it all pointed at Flowey.

The skeleton turns to look at you now, eyeing you up and down inquisitively before his eye lights settle on your bare feet. When he looks back up at you, you're almost startled by the easy going smile he gives you as a result. It's a smile he was only starting to give you every now and then after the two of you had that heart to heart by Grillbyz.

"...You wanna take a walk with me, human? I think we have a few things we need to talk about," Sans states, using a friendly tone that somehow still manages to come across as firm and nerve wracking. It's not him this time, it's mostly just left over anxiety from all the things he did when you met- including your paranoia from everything that's going on after that whole "flubbed reset".

Sans gives you a wink when he notices your apprehension, holding out a hand.

"I promise I don't bite. You can trust me more than that flower in your hair, that much I'm sure of," he says, waiting as you glance down at his offered skeletal hand. Something is telling you he's going to teleport you and Flowey somewhere more quiet, and you wonder if this friendliness is a facade to get you alone. It feels horrible to think like that after all the ground you've covered in getting yourself to open up to monsters- including Sans- but it's hard not to be nervous when you _know_ he doesn't recognize you or remember you.

Due to your feelings of guilt, you lift your hand and take his with a sting of regret already blooming in your gut. What you're doing right now is either going to benefit you, or it's going to be the biggest mistake you've ever made.

"I _hate_ teleporting..." You mutter, remembering your fall the last time and wincing when Sans gives you a look of surprise. For a beat of a second, nothing happens.

And then he jumps down the planter and bench to pull you in close, sending the world spinning for only a moment until the three of you vanish from the campus without a trace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I refuse to QUIIITT!!! >:V RWAR!!
> 
> I'm going to finish these chapters I'm eternally late for if it's the last thing I ever do! Especially now that I don't have a computer virus anymore!!! HNNNGGGG!!! I HAVE THE POWER!! OF PASTA!!!! ON MY SIDE!!!!
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> Reset opened a [Patreon Account](https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponAReset/)!
> 
> Or there's still the option to [Buy Me a Cup of Joe](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5) :3
> 
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)   
>  [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)   
>  [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)   
>  [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)   
>  [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)   
>  [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)   
>  [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)   
>  [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)   
>  [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)   
>  [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)   
>  [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)   
>  [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)   
>  [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)   
>  [Long Day by Metamaterialgirl](https://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Long-day-712949649/)


	51. Who Are You To Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Flowey get in a cozy chat with Sans to see what could have gone wrong with Frisk's reset, but many tangents are to be had since Sans does not know you anymore.

 

Chapter 51: Who Are You To Me?

 

 You're pleasantly surprised when you don't fall over like the last time you teleported with Sans to Asgore's home.

However, your headache hits you full force and you make a small noise of pain, ripping your hand away from Sans and pressing your palms hard against your forehead. Your vision becomes blurry and you blink a few times until you squeeze your eyes shut when you feel the pain travel to the back of your eyes and the center of your forehead, demanding your immediate attention.

"What's wrong? Are you dizzy?" Sans asks, very clearly confused and concerned by your sudden change in behavior.

"Ah, do you have any water around here? She's probably dehydrated again... This is happening a lot," you hear Flowey speak up before there's a beat of silence. "...Don't give me that look! I know you were listening in on us earlier- I'm telling you I'm not the same flower that did whatever he did to you!"

"Right. You're still a weed though," Sans huffs, shuffling away and soon returning with a glass of water that you take and guzzle down greedily. "Better?"

You manage a nod and then open your eyes after Sans takes the half empty glass from you, rubbing them clear to see both the familiar skeleton and Flowey looking at you inquisitively. At their proximity to you, you lean back slightly and raise an eyebrow when you realize you're in an apartment that you don't recognize. At first, you're confused, but then the smell of spaghetti hits your nose. Your lips quiver with the need to smile until you laugh a little.

"I didn't know your house smelt like spaghetti too..." You snicker, prompting Sans to sniff with his... Nose hole? He's gone to the kitchen to refill your glass and breaks in a bigger smile when he catches the smell, moving to sit on the couch after setting the glass on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He pats down on the seat next to him once he's settled. "What can I say? Paps loves his pasta."

Your relieved by the familiar atmosphere, even if Papyrus isn't actually there with you three, and proceed with plopping down on the couch next to Sans without a second thought.

...Until you realize you don't know what to say to him. Your nerves skyrocket again, but thankfully he saves you from making an awkward fool of yourself by speaking up about the elephant in the room.

"So I figure that you know me... But I don't know you. Got anything specific to say to me?" He inquires, prompting you to face him with a blank expression of confusion. He seems to take this as a no and nods in understanding. "Alright then, so it's safe for me to say you're not a time traveler?"

Your eyes bug out slightly and you shake your head. "No... There are such things as time travelers?" At your query, Flowey lets out an obnoxious snort that has you throwing a deadpan at the golden flower.

"Moron, what do you think Frisk did when they slapped the floor? Frisk's basically a time traveler," Flowey supplies for you, making Sans look up at Flowey in surprise. You scrunch your nose up and shake your head dubiously at the gold flower.

"Okay, so can they walk forwards through time then? Or just back? Time traveler implies being able to travel any desired direction through time," you point out, watching as Flowey halts and then makes a funny expression- as if he can't quite figure out how to answer that. "And if they're _really_ a time traveler, why do I suddenly not exist here in the past right now? Where's the other me?"

"Frisk loaded a save file back to here or something?" Sans inquires the two of you, prompting you to glance back at him curiously as Flowey brainstorms a way to explain whatever he needs to explain to you. Flowey mentioned that before... _"Saving"._

"Uh... Flowey said Frisk was trying to do a _reset_ actually, but it flubbed up. Which is why we're here now," you explain, watching Sans nod in understanding and lean back into the couch thoughtfully. Flowey takes the moment to face you and meet your eyes as Sans carefully considers your words.

"Well... Technically, they can. If they saves before a reset, we can get back to the original place we were before they made a reset... But this isn't always possible. Sometimes, the reset even erases _that,_ and we end up all stuck at the very beginning. There's no way to tell if we're stuck until Frisk tries to get back though, and I don't think they're making any attempts to try it yet. Looks like they're comfortable here in this time," Flowey finally explains, prompting you to nervously fidget with your fingers as you register his reasoning.

_That means there's a chance you're going to be stuck here- with no identity, and no friends or people that know you. Sure, you can go around and do little jobs, but you can kiss a higher education goodbye if you don't have any social security. And healthcare. And credit. And anything else important that you need to survive in a society today._

Your headache comes back full force, but rather than worry the two in front of you, you lean forward and pick up your glass of water with a stiff frown of frozen shock, immediately downing the liquid until you're looking at the popcorn ceiling through the warped bottom of the thick glass.

"Relax, (Name), you're gonna give yourself a heart attack," Flowey comments, letting your hair down to ravel around your arm where you can see more of his vines and body.

You're definitely panicking, if the incredulous look you're giving Flowey is any indication.

"I can't," you admit stiffly, hugging the empty glass to yourself with a shiver of apprehension. "I don't understand why it's different this time if it's time travel. What the hell are odds supposed to matter. Forwards or backwards, things shouldn't be _different!_ I should exist whether we go back four years or go forwards four years! And if I'm somehow _dead_ in the near future, well, _somebody_ should remember me! Especially that stupid _freckled lying son of a **bitch**   **Alan Bar-!"**_

You don't even realize you've started to yell until you feel a bony hand on your shoulder and a vine pressing down on your arm, prompting you to sit back down properly and blush when you notice the startled and gaping expressions on both Flowey's and Sans' faces. Wow, way to fall apart like a maniac right there...

"...That headache sure must be getting to you, eh?" Flowey comments, still visibly stunned as he turns to look at Sans with a pathetic smile of unease.

Sans removes his hand and leans back into the sofa, regarding you with a critical eye light.

"So... That's your name then? It's nice," he comments, the mundane statement only relaxing your wound up nerves a little. It's obvious he's changing the subject to something a little more digestible for the moment so you don't have another freak-out, so you wordlessly nod at the compliment and avert your eyes to the glass you're clutching like a life line. When you notice it again with a bit more of a clear mind, you make a face and set it down on the table so you don't accidentally shatter it or anything.

Last time you flipped out, back when you were still blaming all your problems on monsters and being followed by Undyne and Papyrus, a giant glass water container shattered to pieces in Undyne's house. You're not sure exactly how you did that, but it was _definitely_ you. No need breaking any glasses here, much less any in your arms where you can cut yourself up.

"...Who are you?" Sans asks next, directing your attention back to him. You tiredly raise an eyebrow in confusion, not quite sure what he's asking. He knows your name, what else are you supposed to tell him? Your major and goals in life? Hobbies? What does _that_ matter? Why is he concerned about that if he doesn't like humans? 

He must sense your confusion, because he smiles a little and touches his mouth ridges with a hand to visibly hold back a chuckle that only makes his shoulders quiver barely.

"Sorry, I mean... Who are you to _me?"_  He inquires a little more clearly again, prompting you to sigh in frustration and duck your face in your hands with a frown. How do you answer _that_ one? You aren't friends, but you're not enemies... Acquaintances? No, that's not right either. You know him enough that the word doesn't fit what he is to you... "Just askin' since I overheard your little weed saying you were a bit, uh... _'smootchie-wootchie'_  with me."

Your eyes widen and you lift your now burning red face to give Flowey a scathing wide eyed look of accusation and anger. Flowey shrinks back, smiling awkwardly but making no attempt to correct the problem. Instead, he decides to make things worse by waggling his eyebrows at you.

"Listen, I'm not about to make fun of you or anything if you are. I still don't know you from my perspective, so you don't need to worry about me hitting on you either. I mean... You're cute, but I like knowing the person before I start jumping any **bones,** you feel me?" Sans states with a slight grin at his pun, much to your immediate confusion and further embarrassment. His pun goes by barely noticed past what your ears catch.

Wait. Something is not right.

You slowly turn to look at Sans, face no longer burning red with embarrassment as you replay his words over and over in your head.

"...What?" You ask boldly, no force or anger in your tone as you stare at the blue clad skeleton with wide eyes. "What did you say just now?"

Sans frowns a little, but his grin stays affixed to his face as he tries to figure out what's caused the change in your behavior this time. "Um... I like knowing the person before I start jumping any bones?" He repeats, clearly hoping you've registered his executed pun.

"No, not the pun," you state, watching Sans' face half fall in dismay. This reaction of his probably would have been a lot funnier if you weren't suddenly hit with this discovery. "You said I'm cute... Why would you say that?"

Sans flicks his eyes to Flowey in question, but rather than let the gold flower ruin any more moments with his little insinuating gestures, you cover the flower's face with your palm and wrinkle your nose at Sans.

"No, don't look at him, look at _me,"_ you demand, noting the blue color that tints Sans face as he does what you order. He looks like he's honestly regretting having called you cute now. "Now answer my question."

"...Because you are...?" He says, shrugging nervously like he doesn't know what else to tell you. "I'm just stating my thoughts, that doesn't mean I want to _marry_ you or anything... Especially with the way things are going right now. You're cute, but... You're also kind of freaking me out. You're not obsessed with me or something like that, are you?"

"No, it's just... The other you was very insistent on the fact that you pretty much hate humans. All of them. In fact, you hated me for a very long time the most. I mean, there was a good reason, I was a total snob, but even after we figured out the other you was being emotionally manipulated to hate me by my sister so that you could fall in love with her, you said to me you still would never consider a human as a romantic interest," you inform him, watching as confusion blossoms over his face despite your explanation.

"...Okay, not sure what that sister-manipulation thing is, but as far as I know, I've never _hated_ humans. I know Frisk has done some really shitty things, but... They're still a child. They're easily manipulated and they don't quite grasp the morality thing too well since they're young and still learning. I can't hold a grudge on a child who's reactions and choices are likely the result of a bad upbringing- no matter _how_ bad the result is. Life is always changing and Frisk still has the rest of their life ahead of them to learn from their mistakes. The fact that we even get up to the surface every now and then _shows_ that there's room to help correct their behavior overall."

Sans reaches out and takes one of your hands, much to your confusion, and you can practically feel Flowey vibrating in silent giggles as he peeks from between your fingers eagerly. It seems he's enjoying your suffering.

"Now as for humans being a romantic interest, I've got no problem with it personally. It really just matters on whether we connect or not. I mean, if you're really the one for me- or this other Sans- then I'll definitely fall for you regardless if you have a tail or if you have a pair of horns. Which also means I won't care if you're human either," Sans says, patting your hand warmly with a wry grin when your face suddenly turns bright red with horror and embarrassment. "Sorry, does flirting count as hitting on you? You humans just look really funny when you get all red and embarrassed."

You yelp and snatch your hand back, standing and hugging Flowey against you for comfort as you take a couple of steps back from Sans.

"I never said _I_ was into you! Where the fresh hell did you get _that_ idea?!" You snap heatedly, hating the fact that you're visibly affected by his assumptions.

Sans grins wider, eye sockets wrinkling at the corners from how much he's smiling. "Well, why _else_ are you so concerned with what I think about humans? You seem awfully concerned about my romantic interests for someone that was accused to have been _'smootchie-wootchie'_ with me."

You slap your hands over your face with a loud groan, holding them over your eyes in hopes he'll disappear.

...

"I'm still here."

You groan loudly again.

"...And I'm still laughing."

You remove your hands to face the skeleton, throwing Flowey's snickering form a look of rage.

"Sans. We're not acquaintances or enemies... But we're also not friends. Much less _romantic_ with one another. We were only starting to become a little more open with one another about a little more than a _day_ before Frisk slammed the reset on us. So who I am to you... Is really nothing special. Granted, you're a lot nicer now than you were to me when we met before, but you still scare me. I actually don't _know_ you. I know you like to joke around, I know you can be intimidating, I know you've got a lot of brains and I know you have a sharp eye despite always being such a lazy slob," Sans brow bone twitches at your insult, but rather than look offended, he only looks mildly amused by your words. "That's it though. I don't know anything else about you. In fact, right now, I know you about as much as you know _me."_

"...It's funny, the other Smiley Trashbag probably knows more about you since he went and read your diary, huh?" Flowey comments, prompting Sans to turn his attention to the flower. His grin vanishes in an instant, and he narrows his eye lights.

"What? I'd never read someone's diary, that's an invasion of privacy," Sans states, watching Flowey snicker even more.

"Hey, I'm not making it up, you admitted it _to_ _her face_ in the other timeline!" Flowey adds, facing Sans and quickly climbing up your arm to settle around your shoulders and neck. "She was pissed at first, but you got off easy because she was already starting to crush on you."

"Flowey, _shut up!"_  You growl, attempting to grab the non-monster several times before quitting with a scowl when he weaves effortlessly around your body to avoid your grasp. "I didn't hold it against you because you thought I was a danger to your brother. You only read it because you couldn't convince Papyrus to stop being around me and you wanted to find proof I was a messed up killer to get your brother, Undyne, and Alphys to stop following me around."

Sans makes a face of discomfort, obviously jarred by the actions of the other "him". "That sounds very... Unlike me. I get suspicious of people a lot, but I wouldn't go as far as to flip through another person's diary to _defame_ them like that for no reason."

You wince at his words. "It wasn't for no reason, actually... My adoptive sister lied to you and told you I wanted to feel what it was like to dust a monster. It didn't help that I was severely depressed and basically blamed all my life's problems on monsters, so you believed her lies without a hitch."

Sans' brow bones rise with surprise. "That's _still_ not like me. I'd ask you to your face like a normal person and gauge you reaction to it myself, not walk behind your back to get the information and trust someone's word without question."

"You would if this someone put a hex on you to be friendlier and more trusting towards her against your knowledge, and then put a hex to be less friendly with a certain someone _else,"_ you inform the skeleton, who gapes at you quietly until he looks away to stare at the glass on the coffee table in front of him.

"...So your time line sounds very interesting," Sans states, prompting you roll your eyes and move to sit back on the couch beside him. He chuckles a little, relaxing once more as silence fills the room.

Rather than speak up with something else to embarrass you, Flowey also falls silent, until all three of you are zoning out with no clear idea of what to do now.

... _Find Frisk. Maybe they can fix the reset. Maybe they can return to a previous save, or the previous timeline. However this bullshit works,_ you think, sighing and lifting your head as you finalize your next course of action.

"Frisk is always absolute, right? There can't be two Frisks at one time ever? And they always remember _every_ time line and event they experience no matter the reset or save?" You ask Flowey and Sans, returning to the main issue at hand.

Flowey perks up at this new topic. "They're the source of the resets, so yes. When I had the power before they fell down, I could do everything they could and didn't have any problem until they popped up. There have been times I've forgotten events following Frisk taking the power. For instance, every time everyone goes up to the surface, it's always the first time I see it. Because I ask Frisk to erase my memories if they reset so I'm not left knowing that they sent us back to the start again after everything we've gone through to see the sky even _once."_

"...Jeez," you murmur, resting your chin in your hands in thought. "Well... If I see Frisk, they'll know who I am, right?"

"Absolutely. Might freak them out though... The reason they tried resetting is because they overheard me accidentally blabbing to (Name) here. She started panicking when I let some stupid words slip out and they overheard the commotion and thought she was upset enough to panic themselves. This is all a big misunderstanding, really. If (Name) hadn't flipped out and Frisk hadn't flipped out in response, we wouldn't be in this mess," Flowey snorts, looking mighty proud of this observation as you turn to glare at the back of his head.

You want to tell him it's his fault for letting the information slip to begin with, but hold your tongue since no amount of arguing is going to get either of you anywhere. Your head hurts enough as it is, and you run your hands through your bangs to-

...?

A frown graces you features as your fingers find something under your bangs above the general area of your temples, poking out of your scalp about an inch from the start of you hair line. It feels like... maybe the size of a large molar- poking out of your head. It wasn't there when you were in the college bathroom fixing your hair with Flowey, and that was literally maybe twenty minutes ago.

You press hard on it, well aware that Sans and Flowey are giving you funny looks due to the rising expression of horror as it forms across your face. There's no pain pushing on it, no matter how hard you press. In fact, it almost feels like theres barely any pressure at all. When you move to press on the other areas of your skull, you're stunned to feel barely any pressure there either.

Never mind the sturdy skull thing for now, maybe you're just panicking about something stupid, but what about those little teeth things?!

"Can you see something right here?" You ask the two next to you, prompting Sans to lean in and Flowey to stretch his stem to see as you part your hair a little to show them what you're sure feels like a tooth. You feel Sans push some hair out of the way and flinch nervously when you feel his bony finger brush the small thing on your head. It feels weird and scratchy as it scrapes his bone gently. 

"...Uh... Is this a normal human thing...?" Sans inquires, prompting you to look up at him in question.

"No, no it's not. That's why I want to know what you see," you respond, hearing Sans exhale before he sits back and shakes his head.

"Not sure what it is. Looks like a smoothed pointy tooth or something if you ask me," the skeleton answers, before you look to Flowey... and find him staring long and hard with an intense expression on his face. Much to your surprise, he quickly uses his leafy arms to dig through your hair where you know the other toothy thing is, despite you never mentioning there was a second one. When he finds it, he releases you hair and nods confidently like he has a verdict. "You know what it is, weed?"

"Yes, I actually do. And now I see why you're having headaches now... Even though it makes no sense and is really weird," Flowey says with a sniff, looking at you weirdly up and down. "So... You're not a witch, right? I mean, if your sister is one, then-"

"We're not sisters by blood, I thought that was obvious by looking at us," you huff, offended that Flowey would even ask you that sort of question.

"...And you're not a mage like Connect-the-Dots?" Flowey asks next, much to your irritation. You shake your head anyways, crossing your arms and leaning back into the couch. You don't want your bad temper to get the best of you... Not next to Sans at least. You'd rather he see you in a good light this time if you're gonna be stuck here for the time being. "Right, right..."

Flowey pauses to grab your empty water glass and moves to the kitchen by stretching himself from your arm, proceeding to fill the glass and fill the room with the soothing sound of running water. For a moment, you relax and take the break to glance at Sans.

He's already looking at you, eye lights trained on your face as if he's trying to find something familiar about you. You feel yourself move back into the couch a little more at his unflinching gaze, before he smiles and gives you a wink. It's one of those classic winks you've seen him give his friends every now and then out of simple camaraderie, but you feel your entire face turn red with humiliation at the fact that it's aimed at you. Something in your head is trying to convince you that this is him flirting to get another rise out of you, but you desperately try to use logic to beat the embarrassment from showing.

This does not work, and Sans chuckles a little in amusement when you quickly turn your head with a frustrated little huff.

Flowey returns with the glass filled, handing it to you without a blink or any heckling you'd expect from him. You mutter a thanks and take a greedy gulp of the succulent liquid.

"You're not a monster either, right?"

You frown and make an "are-you-serious?" face through your drinking, shaking your head just barely. You see Flowey nod in understanding from the corner of you eyes falling silent as you continue to drink your water quietly. It's awfully nice of him to have brought you another glass... Sure, he's not a total jerk and he's not trying to kill you like before, but bringing you water and catering to you when you're not in any obvious distress? That's a new one.

If you had the money, you'd treat him with maybe a milkshake or something, but it's not like you planned to get sent to the past- and therefore you have no wallet on you whatsoever. You had maybe some money tucked in the flap of one of the pages in your diary that you retrieved from Libby's room before, but you gave the diary to your timeline's Sans to hold in his jacket after it slipped out of your skirt pocket more than once on the walk to Asgore's.

"...Well, your horns are sure coming out real nice. When I was growing them, one of them was coming out crooked at first and mom had to-"

In an instant, the water faucet to the sink in Sans' kitchen suddenly bursts with a loud metallic pop and flies straight up like a projectile, hitting the ceiling with a deafening slam and sending hefty spurts of water all over the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The power of Pasta is at my side, but my wrist is not, as it has chosen to side against me and give me discomfort ;w; As a result, this chapter is only slightly smaller than the usual size, but I managed to get to a reasonable stopping point! 
> 
> Hope it was worth the wait, I'm gonna rest for the next few days, but hopefully by Saturday, I'll have another chapter ready for you all~! :D
> 
> Linkses Below~:  
> Reset opened a [Patreon Account](https://www.patreon.com/OnceUponAReset/)!
> 
> Or there's still the option to [Buy Me a Cup of Joe](https://ko-fi.com/A42812R5) :3
> 
>  
> 
> [Bone Apple Teeth Tumblr](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Pls Do Not Break The Human by Metamaterialgirl](http://imgur.com/mhv6RLC/)   
>  [The Carry of Ultimate Despair by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Shoulder-Carry-of-Utter-Defeat-667769003/)   
>  [Dateage Win: Haxx by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Dateage-Win-Haxx-669424536/)   
>  [The Dance by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Dance-673042914/)   
>  [ Undyne the Undiving by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Undyne-The-Undiving-678824680/)   
>  [Many Echo Flowers Died For This by Metamaterialgirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Many-echo-flowers-died-for-this-685215183/)   
>  [Excavator-X Special by MetamaterialGirl](http://www.deviantart.com/art/Excavator-X-684703400/)   
>  [I Dare You to Hurt My Human, Smiley Trashbag by Vanessagirl286](http://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162506950368/thats-for-you-boneoftheteeth-after-the/)   
>  [The Fall by Metamaterialgirl](http://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/The-Fall-691780819/)   
>  [Speculation: How Reader Could Forgive Sans by Vanessagirl286](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/162969728223/thats-what-i-think-how-the-reader-forgives-sans/)   
>  [Jealousy Over a Weed by Vanessagirl286 (updated version!)](https://vanessagirl286.tumblr.com/post/166003920383/vanessagirl286-i-cant-help-it-to-have-ideas/)   
>  [Miss Human/Reader by TheSufferer1998](https://thesufferer1998.tumblr.com/post/163192760287/boneoftheteeth-idk-xd-here-have-a-fanart/)   
>  [Sans and Brownie by Mashiemomo](https://boneoftheteeth.tumblr.com/post/166348595493/mashiemomo-bone-ap%C3%A9tit-fanart-bland-title-i/)   
>  [Long Day by Metamaterialgirl](https://kinaesthetic.deviantart.com/art/Long-day-712949649/)


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